This Latin phrase (“love of fate”) is a deep principle in Stoic philosophy. I stumbled upon this phrase recently and it gives tidy language to a piece of my own living micro-philosophy (am I Stoic?!?). Back in the day, anything that was unexplainable, unexpected, or undesirable (and everything else, haha) was considered to be of the gods, or “fate”.
So basically — love everything.
Simple at first glance, but not necessarily an easy practice.
Just love… everything? Suffering? Pain? Torture, death, manipulation? It doesn’t mean if you had the choice you’d necessarily choose it over an option that might appear at first glance to result in less pain (we can’t actually ever compare “what ifs” – I might rescue someone from drowning only for them to lose their life in a car accident the next day).
But to truly love something doesn’t mean to choose it or enjoy it. And… it’s more than accepting (which I’m not downplaying at all).
It’s working *with* the challenges, the perceived obstacles, not just reluctantly, but with retained power, enthusiasm, spirit – love – and learning. It’s not to the exclusion of grief, sadness, anger, or other emotions. But it is a full embrace, allowing for silver linings (and bronze linings!) to shine through the clouds. Love does not mean pleasure or feeling good, although those things can be experienced in/with love.
Surely you’ve loved someone and experienced sadness, anguish, frustration, disappointment…? And yet you love them still. That same orientation can be applied to any moment of life. And in that way it’s simple, not necessarily easy.
I love this. Challenge accepted. And I invite you to call me out if you sense I’m not in amor fati. What do you think of this idea/principle?
I love it!
Because I now have the gift of experiencing challenging experiences, I know they are an aspect of Saturnian teaching.
Saturn teaches on a slower timetable than the rest of his brethren in the Heavens, which means you’ll learn something about the importance of patience of you’re paying attention.
Stoic joins his “St” word compatriots under Saturn’s steady stare, words relating to time like “stop, start, last and first” can be found there, as can stability, instant, starlight and structure, Saturn’s words are built to last.
So, absolutely, if caught in a moment you can’t get out of, try loving it and seeing what happens.
Saturn may have something magical up his sleeve, after all.