Into each life some rain must fall.
Shadow in the Flame was a personal project I started in 2009. It was a time of tremendous upheaval in my life and it had been that way for a couple of years. I was alone with four children to bring up. All the friends and advisors I had in the good times were gone. All I had was my books.
One day when my daughter saw I was distressed, she asked me if I was okay. I told her I don’t know what to do. She said “Don’t worry daddy, I’m sure you have a book on it” So I said let’s go find it. I asked her to choose one and she chose A Nietzsche Reader from the shelf and handed it to me.
It saved my life and set me on a new course. I had a large collection of philosophy books, some I had read, but I didn’t need them then. This time I needed advice and encouragement. I needed the way. And I found that and more in my philosophy books.
When I was at high school and later at university, I found if I wanted to learn something, it helped to write about it. I worked it out through my writing. So I decided to start this blog, partly as therapy but also as a way to give my research meaning.
What doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.” Friedrich Nietzsche
I was devastated when it was hacked in 2015 and malicious code was inserted that corrupted not only the website but the backups. But recently, thanks to the expertise of my chief technical officer, Jinkal, we were able to recover some of the articles and comments. We still lost a lot, all the articles after 2011, all the images and many of the comments. But I decided to revive it and once again, thanks to Jinkal, we recreated the original theme, added new images and a few updates. The updates are minor additions to, but do not replace, the original text, which I found is still as relevant today as it was then.
I find philosophy a great way to help me work out issues in my life. The advice I get from people like Friedrich Nietzsche, Michel de Montaigne, the ancient Greeks, Plato and Aristotle, to mention a few and the ancient Chinese philosophers, Confucius, Lao Tzu and many more have been invaluable in helping me overcome some major challenges in my life. I am glad that our readers also benefited from their insights.
If you are going through hell, keep going – Winston Churchill
I wanted to share both their philosophies and their way of looking at the world to show how they are still relevant today.
It was a great surprise to me when so many people found the site and spread the word, so our readership grew and a vibrant community formed through the comments section.
Some of the comments and questions formed the basis for articles and sometimes the commenter became the author of an article. I like those articles the best because I enjoy seeing readers participate. I wish we hadn’t lost so many of their articles.
Another thing we lost is the chapters after chapter three of the Man. I honestly don’t remember what I wrote in them or what the end was going to be, but if I pick it up from where we are, I will let the characters decide that.
I don’t know if this website will ever regain the readership we had back then but I do hope we regain the spirit of participation. That’s up to you.
Ric Vatner
Editor and Contributor.