As I’ve reflected on Nietzsche’s phrase ‘a long obedience in the same direction’, I’ve realised that this is neither serendipitous wandering nor extreme self-control.
Neither is sufficient.
In our world, framed at the level of the individual, we can think that this is all about us. The weight of our effort, and our effort alone.
But it’s not. Because that’s an incomplete starting place.
Our world isn’t just us – our lifespan, our capabilities, our thoughts, desires and habits. By being here, now, we are in some way tethered.
The question is to what or who?
And if we don’t know, then perhaps exploring what is holding us here, right now, might be illuminating…