Learnt of Viktor Frankl from brainpickings and after reading an excerpt there, I decided that I have to read this book. I quite like reading war survival stories like these such as the diary of Anne frank (although that did not have a happy ending), the pianist, etc. there's something beautiful about the unbreakable spirit of men in times of severe hardship. But Frankl transcended to another level by turning what he went through in the concentration camps into something meaningful and "useful"- the founding of logotherapy.
I particularly like this passage:
"Occasionally I looked at the sky, where the stars were fading and the pink light of the morning was beginning to spread behind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness.... For the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers....... The salvation of man is through love and in love."
Again the same sentiments that were echoed by Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Einstein, and the wisest of all, God!
From this passage we also see that In times of despair, having hope and something beautiful to cling on to, makes all the difference to one's psyche.
In Frankl's case, it was hard not to see God's hand at work (how he had managed to escape death several times I felt was not only based on his own wit but part of God's plan and mercy). All that he went through was for the ultimate goal of helping others find meaning in their lives.
Most religious men would have thrust God's word/teaching into one's face and said that our meaning is found there. But sometimes this is something very difficult to grasp. How do we actualise theory and break it down into actionable items? What I've heard over and over again is that our purpose in life is to do God's work, whether through evangelism or by serving others/ church. But how about the daily things we do in life? What are their meanings? Are they just the collaterals of God's work or are there meaning in Them too?
Sometimes I know the politically correct answer to the "meaning" of my work but am I convinced/ convicted of this meaning? I do not know yet. I think I have mentioned this before, I keep having this nagging feeling that I am missing something, something that will make everything make sense.
Anyhow, I wished he had written more on the story of his life in concentration camp. It would have been nice to hear about the aftermath of his release from the camps. The "ending" came from a William Winslade, who is a philosopher,lawyer, and psychoanalyst ( seriously who is this man!) which although wrapped the story up nicely, would have fared better if we had heard it straight from the horse's mouth. It was saddening to learn at the end that Frankl's wife and family died in the camps, leaving him the lone survivor.
