Frankl stated, “When we are no
longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” I
have recommended his book to many people who are also searching for meaning in their
lives. I have gone back and re-read this
book over the years and each time I come away with something new and gain a
better understanding of myself and the meaning that I want in my life.
Frankl’s book is haunting in its
description of what people had to endure in these camps and is a testament to
the strength of the human spirit that is able to not only endure but to thrive
in any environment. Frankl saw the worst
of people and the best of people. He
observed physically weak people who were able to survive in awful conditions strictly
because of the will of their minds and the ability to think in a different
direction. Frankl explained it this way,
“As a professor in two fields, neurology and psychiatry, I am fully aware of
the extent to which man is subject to biological, psychological and
sociological conditions. But in addition to being a professor in two fields I
am a survivor of four camps - concentration camps, that is - and as such I also
bear witness to the unexpected extent to which man is capable of defying and
braving even the worst conditions conceivable.”
Frankl’s theory was that people need
to find meaning from within themselves in order to grow and thrive. He believed that people surround themselves
with wealth and possessions as a substitute for finding this meaning and
internal peace. It seems like that is
infinitely more true today as it was when he wrote about it in the 1940’s. Unfortunately anyone who has grieved a loved
one knows that “stuff” can not replace a loving relationship with another human
being.
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