FN here

[HairOfTheDog]

Out of damp and gloomy days, out of solitude, out of loveless words directed at us, conclusions grow up in us like fungus: one morning they are there, we know not how, and they gaze upon us, morose and gray. Woe to the thinker who is not the gardener but only the soil of the plants that grow in him!

-Friedrich Nietzsche

This is one of my favorite FN quotes, RG. Too many people blaming their parents, their culture, their ex, their this or their that for how they feel and where they find themselves.

Imo, we all have seeds planted in us when we are too young and/or too ignorant or blinded to identify and yank the negatives and cultivate the positives ourselves.

BUT, we all (who are not born mentally challenged) also mature enough to tend our emotional and intellectual gardens; some with many fewer inherent obstacles than others - still the power and responsibility lies within each of us individually. Wisdom is progressive unless the pattern is to always look to hold someone else accountable for ourselves. Weak.

At least, this has always been my interpretation of the quote.

I always read it as myopic. He seemed to turn his critical eye selfward as much as outward. More so in his later musings IMO. BTAIM No reason you or I shouldn't take it on as a call to excellence. Which is the value of much of his work. Also IMO.

I agree, if I understand you correctly. Beyond childhood, no one plants a seed within us without us allowing that seed to be planted. I guess, to me, if a weed has been dispensed within my garden, it doesn't really matter how it got there or who cultivated it (I or anyone else). It only matters that it has been identified as a weed that may be blocking more fruitful growth and that I acknowlege and take responsibility for addressing it.

As a procrastinator, I acknowledge a lot of weeds, yank those that are obviously blocking positive growth immediately, and often let the more dormant ones exist until they are obviously prohibiting new growth. My garden is typically quite healthy, but not necessarily flourishing and beautiful. Always workin' on it.