Man’s Search for Meaning

As I began reading Victor Frankl’s book, I automatically started thinking of all the horrors and victims of the Holocaust that I had read about in other books or movies I had watched on the subject. As I read further into the book I realized that Dr. Frankl’s point was not to recount the travesties of the concentration camps but to show that man has the power to choose to continue to live and have a meaningful existence. This discussed some of the atrocities of the camps but the author did not dwell on the people whose primary jobs were to work the prisoners to death literally or to extinguish those considered inferior. He chose to use and relate examples of life that gave meaning to human suffering. It is hard to fathom or truly understand the life in a concentration or prison camp and even harder to comprehend when a person has lost everything except his or her own bodies and free will. I was amazed that people were able to have faith that they would be rescued and not feel pity for themselves. People across the world say they are starved but in reality, most of us don’t even have a clue as to what true hunger and starvation feels like. Although I feel that Dr. Frankl’s experience is not unique, his ability to develop it into a theory was, especially under the circumstances which he began formulating his Logo therapy.
The passage, “we really had nothing now except our bare bodies - even minus hair; all we possessed, literally, was our naked existence” (Frankl, 2006) gave me a more concrete idea of what it meant to have nothing. People too often are measured by the possessions they have, but once the prisoners were stripped of all their worldly assets the prisoners were all the same, naked and nameless. In my naivety I cannot comprehend becoming known by a number tattooed to your skin and clothes and Dr. Frankl stated it best “all that I have worked for and all that I know is now a memory and non-existent”. (Frankl, 2006) life for many of the prisoners, including Dr. Frankl, changed with the blink of an eye and was constantly changing with every decision being life or death.
Throughout the book Dr. Frankl spoke about human sacrifices and how the best of them had not survived. He admitted that some men lost hope and could not look past the suffering that they experienced and they were the ones that perished or had the most difficulty with the camps. I know that sometimes we as humans get caught up with placing too much importance on depraved life situations, money issues and sickness, so much that we forget to appreciate the little things in life. In life, like in the prison camps, you have to believe that “trouble doesn’t last always” find motivation to wake up the next morning. America’s families are being tested with hunger, homelessness and unemployment. The number of suicide attempts in the Charlotte NC region since the economic decline has doubled if not tripled. Logo therapy would probably be a good choice of therapy to use. Take a look at your life, find someone or something that gives you meaning. Embrace those things worth living for and work the other problems out later. In the beginning Dr. Frankl spoke of sleep deprivation and men who felt they couldn’t sleep without a pillow or next to a person who snored loudly. He stated that he too learned that the human body can do amazing things that he never thought possible. People want a 3-5 course meals that contain meat, vegetable and a starch but in the camps bread and watered down soup was on order daily. Bread was a commodity and literally the “bread of life” for the prisoners. Look at today’s pro athletes complaining about only making a million and how they can’t live on a million dollars. What did you live on in “college” and when you lived at home with parent(s)? There are people who survive daily on hope, hope I get a job, food and a place to sleep.
Once a person gives up hope according to Dr. Frankl, the will to live seldom returns and people give up and give in to death and disease. Hope is a powerful tool and I agree with the author that keeping a healthy goal (thought) and being able to see the opportunities for change in your situation makes the journey worth living. I can personally speak on losing hope and faith and the devastation it plays on will power. I was told in 1993 that I would not live past the age of thirty and I quit living. I lost twelve years to feeling hopeless and the inability to see past that moment left me in a state of futility. It is a challenge for people to find a meaning to their lives but love is worth living for, seeing the beauty of the world, and helping others have given me meaning in my life.
I think Dr. Frankl’s view on being able to move past the present and envision the future or even see yourself in a more pleasant environment could definitely work for people who live in dire situations such as war torn Somalia, American ghetto’s, and area’s hit with famine or disaster’s. Again, it is easy to say “poor me” but when you truly make a comparison to another person who may be suffering more than you are it puts your life back into perspective. At the hospital sometimes we get children who attempt suicide and are placed in our children’s hospital with children who have terminal cancer or other illnesses who are smiling and happy just to be alive, and you see the change of attitude with the suicide tempters. I think they grasp that maybe I can live with “not having a boyfriend” or “pimples and braces”.
“Everything can be taken away 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 way”. (Frankl, 2006) This sums up Dr. Frankl’s book and Logo therapy, we can choose to be happy, smile or sad. Life is what you make it. There is beauty in every living thing and there is good in every living thing. Find those things that make you smile and enjoy them. Love your partner and families; find that connection that gives your life a spark. I think Forrest Gump said it best…”Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you will get”.

References

Frankl, V. (2006). Man’s Search for Meaning. New York: Beacon Press.