A Perspective on Life’s Purpose That You May Not Have Considered.
I'm reading Viktor Frankl's book "Man's Search For Meaning". This is an iconic book that has been around since the late 1940's.
I am fascinated by this book and how the author is able to not only convey his experiences while imprisoned in concentration camps by Nazi Germany, but more so that he is able to write about the psychological affects that he and most other prisoners went through. What I didn't expect when I started reading this book was the impact it would have on my life today, almost 78 years after it was first published.
Frankl writes about the varying degrees of psychological change that happened to the prisoners over time, being directly related to their connection and dedication to who they are as a human being. This dedication was centered in the prisoner’s spiritual faith, who they knew themselves to be at their very core as guided by their morals and values, and having a clear “Why” as to what keeps them going to survive every day (their "How").
One would think that experiencing torture, starvation, and the ever looming chance that their turn to be gassed or burned to death could happen at any time, would cause everyone to lose hope and to do anything to survive; even if they had to compromise who they are fundamentally as a human being. While some prisoners did compromise, not everyone fell into that category.
The following excerpt from the book is talking about how some prisoners embodied a calm, compassionate and magnetic force that was so powerful it sustained and fortified many others. I found it to fill me with hope that during unexplainable times in our lives, we can stay connected to who we truly are simply by being steadfast and true to our morals and values.
" . . . but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. . . .
Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him - mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevsky said once, "There is only one thing I dread; not to be worthy of my sufferings." These words frequently came to my mind after I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom - which cannot be taken away - that makes life meaningful and purposeful." - Viktor Frankl
In the next part of the book, Frankl is talking about the connection between a prisoner's Will to live in such dire circumstances at the nazi concentration camp. He tells a story of a prisoner who had a dream where he was told he could get an answer to a single question he had. The prisoner asked, "When the war would be over for me?" meaning when would he be liberated. The voice told him, "March 30th." As time grew closer to this date, it was obvious that there was going to be no liberation for him based on the news of the war. On March 29th he became ill, on March 30th he became delirious, and on March 31st he died. Frankl writes, "... the sudden loss of hope and courage can have a deadly effect."
Frankl goes on to write about man's fundamental attitude toward life and that, "... it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life - daily and hourly. Our answers must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual."
As I mentioned earlier, it's up to us in how we view life and how we choose to move forward through the difficult times. This is being worthy of your suffering (as Frankl writes).
Rather than giving up and choosing to succumb to the hopelessness of being a victim, we can make those incremental big and small ongoing decisions in still doing what is right based on your unique personal morals and values. Sometimes these decisions are difficult and go against what you may want for yourself, but rather what is best for someone else or even for the world at large.
Life continually gives us opportunities to find the right answers that come from a place of compassion and love. This perspective gives me more of a sense of actionable empowerment. You can choose to lean into the suffering or difficultly and show it (or life) what you are made of and the solutions you intuitively have inside you. Choose to fully embrace your innate intelligence on what is the “right action and right conduct to find the right answers to life’s problems”.
I am astounded by the perspectives and insights this book has given to me. If you’d like to dive deeper into what this all means, feel free to reach out to me and set up a time to chat. I also, hope you find time to take in this book in whatever format you can, as I feel it will give you perspectives and OMGs that you would not expect.
- Dwight J. Raatz
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Citations:
Frankl, V.E. (2006). Man’s Search For Meaning. Becon Press.
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