January 2023—Happy New Year! Happy New Life!
This year for Christmas, I gave each of our children a copy of the book, Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), who was a Holocaust survivor. In a letter to each of our family members I wrote:
I read this book the first time about 30 years ago, and it was life-changing back then. I found it on Audible a few weeks ago, and it has been even more life-changing this time as I listened to the power and truth in each chapter! I didn’t understand it all when I first read it, but with my many years of growth experiences, I understand his philosophy much better! I am including some of Viktor Frankl’s quotes. I hope each of you will have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a HAPPY NEW LIFE!!!
The reason I wished my family a “HAPPY NEW LIFE” is because I believe reading this book and applying its true principles will change their lives as much as it has mine. I also believe that it can change your life!
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VIKTOR FRANKL QUOTES
“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.”
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
“Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.”
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.”
“When a person can't find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure.”
“The attempt to develop a sense of humour and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of a trick learned while mastering the art of living.”
“But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, The courage to suffer.”
“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 fulfil the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”
“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.”
When we understand that we do have the power “to choose one’s attitude,” we find true freedom. We are free to become the person we know deep in our hearts that we really want to be.