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Viktor Frankl's Man Search For Meaning

Most have heard of this book. Some haven't. Let me find you some thought provoking excerpts -
**
"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."

"In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice."

"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 answer 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."

**

I am beginning to realise slowly that I, perhaps, shall never find the meaning of life. But, I can make my life more meaningful. It will be more meaningful when I rise to all the challenges, moral and ethical, I face in every moment of my life. That I live up to my expectations. That I set high expectations for my sense of justice and wisdom, truth and courage, for my integrity.

That I am my own legend, in my own way, in my circle of influence.

[ Note- Apologies if the last sentence seems to have been inspired by the new Will Smith movie title.]

Comments

Anonymous said…
Ah! nicely done Bhanu..

Read this book when I was in my first year at L. Does make one think about the capacity of the human forgiveness. Of what we claim to be important when we shouldn't be giving a damn about many such trivialities.

I am my own legend. He, he. So cheesy, I can make a grilled sandwich with it. But nice, nevertheless :) We are all allowed our moments, aren't we?
Horsie said…
"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 answer 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."

shit!! this is exactly the conversation we had in the cab on the way to penang!! spooky...

n oh oh...i said similar words. i consider myself wise now!! ;). :P.

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