Logos

In Nietzsche’s words “He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.”

According to Frankl, in order to satisfy the search for meaning in life you change your attitude towards suffering.  “…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 circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”(66) Even in the direst of circumstances, such as experienced by Frankl in several concentration camps, he notes of the opportunity to freedom and spiritual growth that is available. “It is this spiritual freedom- which cannot be taken away-that makes life meaningful and purposeful.”(67) Responsibility in your reactions creates empowerment in the individual.

“The man that was not able to see his ‘provisional existence’ was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life” (70) “What man actually needs is not tensionless state, but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal-a freely chosen task.” (105) Working towards something in the future provides hope for an individual, which helps them to find meaning in life.  The act of working is meaningful and can be therapeutic for some.

The salvation of man is through love and in love. (37) Love is another essential part of Viktor E. Frankl’s logotherapy, or meaning therapy. “The second way of finding a meaning in life is by experiencing something-such as goodness, truth and beauty-by experiencing nature and culture or, last but not least, by experiencing another human being in his very uniqueness-by loving him.” (111) Frankl speaks from experience on this front, when in concentration camps, he would have “conversations” with is wife.  It was irrelevant whether she was present or not, but the anchoring feeling to love someone else can create purpose for an individual.

Realizing the irreplaceable nature of man, others is a concept mentioned in the book, I would extend the notion to the reality of uniqueness and irreplaceable nature of not only others, but me.  Realizing that, in loving myself and realizing me is an essential part of creating meaning.

Misunderstanding is the root of all suffering; creating understanding is to satisfy the search.  Life asks us a question at every moment and movement through these questions and creation of questions is a process in living and meaning creation.  Living brings meaning to life, experience is part of living.

Edith Weisskopf-Joelson mentioned, “our current mental-hygiene philosophy stresses the idea that people ought to be happy, that unhappiness is a symptom of maladjustment.  Such a value system might be responsible for the fact that the burden of unavoidable unhappiness is increased by unhappiness about being unhappy.” (114) Feeling a range of emotions is part of our experience in life.  “Emotion which is suffering ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it” (74)