Man's Search For Meaning

Life was consumed by constant orders, labor, malnutrition, disease, and murder in the concentration camps. Yet somehow the human psyche in many individuals was able to endure throughout these imprisonments. Men and women were almost completely dehumanized during this genocide, but their psyche survived it. People had to find little things to keep themselves content and to nurture their psyche. “Humor was another of the soul’s weapons in the fight for self-preservation” (63). Humor allows a person to escape a situation and rise above it, even if only for a short time. Humor can never be taken away from anyone because it is naturally within us. Humor within the concentration camps allowed people, for even a split second, to feel like they were free and not in this confinement. “The attempt to develop a sense of humor and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of a trick learned while mastering the art of living” (64). It would be much more rigorous on the human psyche if one could not escape every so often and realize the humor in something. Humor allowed people to become more relaxed and release some stress, allowing the human psyche to stay healthier.

Viktor E. Frankl discusses how man can find meaning and a reason in his or her life. Viktor is faced with obstacles all along the way of his life, and questions arise that he has a hard time answering. The same pattern of obstacles and questions arise in my life. Although Viktor’s imprisonment in a concentration camp was far more discouraging than anything in my life, he still had to answer the same questions in life as I do. What is my meaning? Why should I go on? Frankl talks about how we can discover life in 3 ways. The two I relate with are doing a deed and attitude towards unavoidable suffering. I interpret the first one as being the best person I can be to others and me, choosing to do just the next right thing. The second one, attitude towards unavoidable suffering, is something I have accepted a long time ago. I do not bother with things I cannot control and try to make the best of every situation. “The last of the human freedoms вЂ" to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way” (86). This relates to being an optimist. My attitude is things will always get better down the road of life despite unavoidable suffering.

Realizing every person is fighting a great battle in his or her life has changed my worldview. I realize everyone is trying to find meaning and dealing with suffering in one form or another. “It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us” (98). Most people try, in one way or another, to follow this mindset in life. This allows me to be more understanding of why people make decisions and act on them.

When anything goes wrong or bad in my life, my family is always there for me. Whenever my family goes through something bad, I am there for him/her. I believe we are in this life together and this belief deepens my sense of meaning. Personal suffering is a way of growth for the human mind and psyche. Suffering is usually never the end to a situation, but rather the beginning. It is the beginning of a road to a higher goal or greater good. “Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning” (135). If one can realize there is meaning in suffering, then they will be able to deal with any hardship, because the knowledge of what it is for, gives hope.

Meaning cannot be circumstantially controlled. The meaning someone has and feels cannot be touched or hindered. Meaning is consistent and strong. Uncontrollable circumstances will affect whether or not one is in high spirits. I understand that meaning is something so powerful it cannot be taken away from you.

Viktor writes about the Capos during his time in the concentration camps. “Often they were harder on the prisoners than were the guards, and beat them more cruelly than the SS men did” (22). This quote and description really shocked and disgusted me. The Capos were Jewish and inmates of the Germans just like all the other prisoners.

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