From resentment to gratitude

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“If you think someone ruined your life, you're right. It was you.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

The German philosopher, who at the age of 24 became the youngest professor of Classical Philosophy at the University of Basel, was forced to resign from his position 11 years later due to a successive deterioration in his health. He wrote most of his most important literary works on philosophy in the following decade. Now considered his youth, at the age of 44, he suffered a breakdown that led to a complete loss of his mental faculties and early dementia. He lived under the care of his family for the next 11 years, which culminated in his death. (source)

There are people who achieve the great feat of turning ideas that are not so popular into true treatises on new thinking. Nietzsche was one of those men. In an era deeply marked by several centuries of Catholic Church dominance in society, he ended up breaking with several centuries-old connections, even rejecting the existence of anything divine in the non-material realm.

Focused on a close and very real understanding, he was often led to explore his most controversial or less consensual ideas, which, a few years later, became popular in contemporary philosophy. His constant search for a reason or logos that would not be associated with something divine, but rather with the very carnal existence of man, was one of the subjects he addressed in his long treatises at the time.

When he postulates that we are the ones who ruin and destroy our own existence, he gives us back that responsibility, leaving “a God” no God on a plane that is obviously not contemplated. His denial of God ultimately leads those who use his phrase as a starting point for deeper personal reflection to paradoxically believe more in what is written in Holy Scripture and in the teachings of the Christian Church.

We must be more than mere spectators of our own lives. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 25, verses 14-30, we read the “Parable of the Talents”

^{(if you have interest in the Bible passage, please open the collapsed content)}

! [Parable of the Talents] 14 `The kingdom of heaven will be like the time a man went to a country far away. He called his servants and put them in charge of his money.

15 He gave five bags of money to one servant. He gave two bags of money to another servant. He gave one bag of money to another servant. He gave to each one what he was able to be in charge of. Then he went away.

16 `Right away the servant who had five bags of money began to buy and sell things with it. He made five bags of money more than he had at first.

17 `The servant who had two bags of money did the same thing as the one who had five bags. He also made two bags of money more than he had at first.

18 But the man who had only one bag of money dug a hole in the ground. And he hid his master's money in the ground.

19 `After a long time, the master of those servants came home. He asked what they had done with his money.

20 The servant who had been given five bags of money brought five bags more to his master. He said, "Sir, you gave me five bags of money. See, I have made five bags more money."

21 `His master said, "You have done well. You are a good servant. I can trust you. You have taken good care of a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come, have a good time with your master."

22 `The servant who had been given two bags of money came and said to his master, "Sir, you gave me two bags of money. I have made two bags more money."

23 His master said, "You have done well. You are a good servant. I can trust you. You have taken good care of a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come, have a good time with your master."

24 `The servant who had been given one bag of money came and said, "Sir, I knew that you were a hard man. You cut grain where you did not plant. You pick fruit where you put nothing in.

25 I was afraid. So I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is your money."

26 `His master answered him, "You are a bad and lazy servant. You knew that I cut grain where I did not plant. You knew that I pick fruit where I put nothing in.

27 You should have put my money in the bank. Then when I came home, I would have had my money with interest on it.

28 So take the money away from him. Give it to the one who has ten bags.

29 Anyone who has some will get more, and he will have plenty. But he who does not get anything, even the little that he has will be taken away from him.

30 Take this good-for-nothing servant! Put him out in the dark place outside. People there will cry and make a noise with their teeth." '

Source:
^{https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mateus%2025%3A14-30&version=WE}

In this passage, the Evangelist's message is clear, emphasizing that the gifts we receive, which are not the same for everyone, should be put to use so that we can benefit from them, and we should not be afraid of losing them by hiding them from the light of day or depriving ourselves of doing good.

But we have something very powerful at our disposal so that we are not overcome by resentment. It is a tool that is not only available to believers, but to everyone. It is called gratitude. Gratitude does not have to be directed at something divine. We can be grateful that we currently have a roof over our heads, that we are not hungry, or even that we are not facing a scenario of war or other types of violence. In gratitude, we can find the true antidote to the resentment that lurks within us, as something we cannot directly attribute to our actions.

Through gratitude and focus on the present, we have a true awareness of who we are, or who we want to be. We do not allow ourselves to be discouraged by illusions instilled by those who do not wish us well, or by those who are simply more interested in gaining external approval.

For those who wish to read the biblical passage I refer to in this publication, I leave it for you in the following segment.

I hope you enjoyed my little daily reflection.

Bem Hajam🍀

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