Happy Friday, Friends!
I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day prepares to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama!
I mentioned Dr. Viktor Frankl in a previous Happy Friday. I have always been fascinated by him. He authored the book, Man’s Search for Meaning. When organizing my personal library over the holidays I found the book and realized I had not read it. That is in the process of being changed! I have found many profound thoughts in it and this morning, I simply want to share them with you. Before doing so, I want to provide you with a little background information on Dr. Frankl. The following can be found at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Viktor-Frankl.
“Viktor Frankl (born March 26, 1905, Vienna, Austria—died September 2, 1997, Vienna) was an Austrian psychiatrist and psychotherapist who developed the psychological approach known as logotherapy, widely recognized as the “third school” of Viennese psychotherapy, after the “first school” of Sigmund Freud and the “second school” of Alfred Adler. The basis of Frankl’s theory was that the primary motivation of an individual is the search for meaning in life and that the primary purpose of psychotherapy should be to help the individual find that meaning.”
“After earning a doctorate in medicine in 1930, Frankl joined the staff of the Am Steinhof psychiatric hospital in Vienna, where he headed the female suicide prevention program from 1933 to 1937. He subsequently established a private practice but, he being Jewish, was forced to close it after Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938. He then became chief of neurology at Vienna’s Rothschild Hospital, which served the Jewish population. Anti-Semitism was on the rise, however, and in 1942 Frankl and his family were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where his father perished. In 1944 the surviving Frankls were taken to Auschwitz, where his mother was exterminated; his wife died later in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. As Frankl observed the brutality and degradation around him, he theorized that those inmates who had some meaning in their lives were more likely to survive; he himself tried to recreate the manuscript of a book he had been writing before his capture.”
Dr. Frankl is widely known for the quote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” It was this quote, knowing what is shared in the previous paragraph, which fascinated me about Dr. Frankl. It is easy when someone is having a bad day to tell them, “you can choose your attitude in any circumstance” and it is quite another to have a man who lived 3 years in a concentration camp, who lost his mother, father, and wife, in concentration camps to tell you he has come to this conclusion. The context of it is awe-inspiring to me.
Here are the excerpts I want to share from Man’s Search for Meaning.
“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
“Even though conditions such as lack of sleep, insufficient food and various mental stresses may suggest that the inmates were bound to react in certain ways, in the final analysis it becomes clear that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him – mentally and spiritually.”
“The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity – even under the most difficult circumstances – to add deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his suffering or not.”
“From all this we may learn that there are two races of men in this world, but only these two – the “race” of the decent man and the “race” of the indecent man. Both are found everywhere; they penetrate into all groups of society. No group consists entirely of decent or indecent people. In this sense, no group is of “pure race” – and therefore one occasionally found a decent fellow among the camp guards.”
Powerful, powerful words. I won’t share any more excerpts this morning – hopefully, I have already given you enough to ponder. I do want to strongly encourage you to read Man’s Search for Meaning. Dr. Frankl is so humble, his words so gracious and thoughtful. Awe-inspiring…
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!
