by Shaun Emerson
Yesterday, I returned to the U.S. from a hiking trip in Southern France. On every level, it was a spectacular experience. The hikes were this beautiful blend of natural wonder, deep history, and serious physical challenge. Honestly, I don’t know if I ever feel more alive than when I’m hiking outside, climbing, pushing myself, immersed in nature’s magnificence.
The final hike of the trip was the Nietzsche Path to Èze, a stunning medieval village perched above the Mediterranean just outside Nice. My wife found the trail scrolling through the socials (I suppose the socials have some value 😬). It’s a 1.3-mile climb with a steep 1,300-foot elevation gain that begins near the train station in Èze-sur-Mer. The path is named after Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher who apparently walked it often in the 1880s as he worked on the third part of Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
I wasn’t thinking much about Nietzsche when we started. He felt like a fun fact at best until we came across a landmark about halfway up. Thankfully, it came with an English translation—my French peaks at bonjour, merci, au revoir, and oui.
The monument reads:
Every poem is a magical incantation that prepares the soul for journeys into the mysterious beyond. What poem is more beautiful than Nietzsche’s Zarathustra?
If “Man is a bridge for man”, his super humanity is found in his friendships.
Oh midday of life! Solemn time!
Oh garden of summer!
Restless happiness in standing and watching and waiting—
I await friends, ready night and day.
Where are you, friends? Come! It is time, it is time!
Oh midday of life, second youth!
Oh garden of summer!
Restless happiness in standing and watching and waiting—
I await friends, ready night and day—NEW friends.
Come! It is time, it is time!
Certain of common victory, we celebrate the feast of feasts:
Friend Zarathustra has come, the guest of guests.
Now the world laughs and the terrible veil is torn.
Through light and darkness, the wedding has come.
Man is a bridge. Restless happiness. New friends. Super-humanity found in friendship.
I loved these words! Out there in the French woods, they felt like a wild, poetic invitation to connection! They spoke to the blossoming of our friendship with the Basses, who we were traveling with for the first time. The trip was a feast of feasts.
Nature. Hiking. Friends. Nothing makes me feel more alive.
What makes you feel alive?
Shaun Emerson
Development Lead • Ambassador
For over twenty-five years, Shaun worked in the technology space, both as employee and as entrepreneur. He managed personnel and processes in sales, marketing, and operations. He started and led businesses in both the for-profit and the nonprofit sectors.
Biography
Today, Shaun dedicates his time to nonprofit initiatives. He has served in board leadership and other volunteer roles in several organizations. He currently serves as MenLiving’s Development Lead, focusing on programming and funding.
In 2012, Shaun discovered the transformational practice of yoga. Moved by the philosophy and power of the practice, he trained to guide others. He has lead yoga and meditation classes since.
Shaun grew up in New England and graduated with a BA in Sociology from the College of the Holy Cross. He has lived in the Chicago area since 1986. He is a father of three and has been married to his wife, Lisa, since 1993. Shaun and Lisa split their time between Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and Palm Springs, California.
