Kill Your Gods

"To those human beings who are of any concern to me I wish suffering, desolation, sickness, ill-treatment, indignities — I wish that they should not remain unfamiliar with profound self-contempt, the torture of self-mistrust, the wretchedness of the vanquished: I have no pity for them, because I wish them the only thing that can prove today whether one is worth anything or not — that one endures."
—Friedrich Nietzsche, "Der Wille zur Macht" (The Will To Power)

I

You've heard them all, and somehow it resonated within you. It may be the image of the lone wolf, the pack, or the dark knight. It doesn't matter which one, but it slowly drew you in. You felt the pull of something ineffable... a meaning in your personal madness. But the image was only a reflection of your own darkness. It was you, and only you, who assigned real power to these symbols.

You studied and learned these images. You've read the writings from various dynasties, and fed upon their flesh. Now, these sun-bleached corpses have been picked clean, and have infected you with both their strengths and their weaknesses. Of course, you also learned their lingo along the way; darkness, power, wolves, strength, sheep, wisdom. In fact, you learned the lingo so well that you assumed you were it. It is the fallacy of repetition. Yet, it is only a fallacy when repetition leads you into error and delusion. That is the question that only you can answer. With the most vicious honesty, ask yourself if the images you cherish are helping or hindering you from your goals.

II

"Whatever has value in our world now does not have value in itself, according to its nature - nature is always value-less, but has been given value at some time, as a present - and it was we who gave and bestowed it."
—Friedrich Nietzsche

To clarify, this is not to say that these archetypes hold no power, nor meaning. In fact, I am suggesting the exact opposite. They hold great power to transform an individual. But each image, each teaching is simply a tool. Learn the lessons, strive, learn everything you can. But when you have tasted that wine and become drunken—throw away the bottle. For every teaching or symbol that is a source of liberation can become chains that enslave you. If you really wish to be free, to be liberated—these chains must be broken. Only then can you see outside the metaphorical cave.

This will all, perhaps, seem quite melodramatic and, of course, it is meant to be. It may seem to be detached from your daily life. But analyze your life as you go through your day. Collect your idols, your quiet gods, and determine their worth. Find those areas where the image you hold in your mind is not your own, but an image you have inherited from someone else. An image that has outlived its usefulness. (This part is crucial. Make sure you have learned the lessons.) Honor what it has taught you. Appreciate it as a teacher, as a reflection. Then gently place it upon the altar of forgotten idols, and smash it with the hammer of your will. Crush this idol until it is dust. It is a rather strange notion, but an ancient truth, that you must kill the gods if you ever hope to become one. That is, if you wish to become a god that endures all. To become a human being that overcomes all.