“There are but two roads that lead to an important goal and to the doing of wonderful things: strength and perseverance. Strength is the lot of but a few privileged men; but austere perseverance, harsh and continuous, may be employed by the smallest of us and rarely fails of its purpose, for its silent power grows irresistibly greater with time.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust: First Part
Since reading his biography years ago, Nikola Tesla means more to me than the alternating currents that his insight, intuition, and imagination brought to humanity. He had a strange kind of ambition that was not based on personal gain or money.
He felt the true need to help humanity. I see him as a glimpse into our human future, if it is not too late, where humanity can work tighter together with nature creating with his kind of passion; To create incredible things based on insight, intuition, and imagination.
Tesla’s mother was also a creative person like her son; his father was a Serbian orthodox priest. He grew up in the village of Smiljan, Austrian Empire.
He grew up close to nature where clear streams and a nearby mountain broke out with electrical storms, both teaching Nikola about the flow of nature. The manifestation of all that is; is part of us, nature, and the cosmos. Nikola memorized Goethe’s Faust forward and backwards. He used quotes from Faust as a form of meditation to block out the sometimes-overwhelming sensitivity he had to the noises of life.
“Everything transitory is but an image.”
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust: First Part
With all that Tesla had to offer humanity he fell short of his dreams due to the lack of understanding in the times when he was born. Racing forward to create via the means of power and money was not Tesla’s dream.
He died a lonely man if not for a pigeon. The point being is he did what he did for love. He worked by and for it. He broke both legs. Symbolically he did this for us and the earth.
Tesla’s strange and mysterious life is based on integrity. If I have learned anything from this great man, I have learned this, and I base my life on it; everything I do is based on love, integrity and not power or money.
To create something based on love is like giving birth to a child. It is insight, intuition and imagination manifested and it is intrinsically physical too.
Having this as a basis for life one cannot walk the ambitious path only trying to get somewhere for fame or fortune. Instead, one might be asking why and for what? It is not what Tesla has left us more valuable as the why and for what?
Does he not answer that for us? The importance of living life and what may be in the way?
This is a riddle that Nikola has helped me solve! It may not be profitable, glorious, or popular, but walking the motif of love based on insight, intuition, and imagination…makes the breaking of legs all worthwhile in the difficulties of life.
A flower in my hand picture taken by my mother… RIP.
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