'I am grateful that fate has hit me so hard...'

"Live as if you were living a second time, and as though you had acted wrongly the first time." ~ Viktor Frankl

Today, I have some perspective for you that may be a bit of a challenge for your heart and mind but something that may help you put this financial crisis in its proper place -- and to see it as an opportunity -- not just to buy stocks -- but to take a look at your life, your priorities and your pursuits and how they are aligned (or misaligned).

To set up the following passage, you should know the setting:  The highlighted words today come from Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning, which is set primarily in a German concentration camp during World War II.

Frankl, a behavioral psychologist and Jewish Holocaust survivor, observed among his fellow prisoners "that only the men who allowed their inner hold on their moral and spiritual selves to subside eventually fell victim to the camp's degenerating influences."

Frankl makes many anecdotal observations in the book -- some are quite horrific -- but they all offer profound lessons on life... like this one:

This young woman knew that she would die in the next few days.  But when I talked to her she was cheerful in spite of this knowledge.  'I am grateful that fate has hit me so hard,' she told me.  'In my former life I was spoiled and did not take spiritual accomplishments seriously.'  Pointing through the window of the hut, she said, 'This tree here is the only friend I have in my loneliness.'  Through that window she could see just one branch of a chestnut tree, and on the branch were two blossoms.  'I often talk to this tree,' she said to me.  I was startled and didn't quite know how to take her words.  Was she delirious?  Did she have occasional hallucinations?  Anxiously I asked her if the tree replied.  'Yes.'  What did it say to her?  She answered, 'It said to me, I am here -- I am here -- I am life, eternal life.'

When life hits you hard, do you find meaning in your suffering?  Do you find opportunity in adversity?  Do you run from a challenge or embrace it? 

Frankl and his book has helped me and millions of others see that meaning (and suffering) does not come from outside of ourselves.  I highly recommend reading it...

Here are a few more selected quotes from Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning, for your perspective:

"The last of human freedoms -- the ability to chose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances." 

"Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked."

"What is to give light must endure burning."

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."

Thank you, Mr. Frankl...

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Related Post: Mind vs. Brain Part II: Priorities, Pursuits and Productivity

Comments

[Ned]

Thanks. This is right where I am at. What has struck me recently is the absolute necessity in what Frankl calls 'an inner hold on the spiritual/moral self'.

It is in times of hardship that the contrast between light and dark is most apparent. It is much easier to turn towards the light and leave the shadow world behind.

[The Financial Philosopher]

Ned:

If we do not have that "inner place to go to" when things are difficult, life can at times seem overwhelming; however, we certainly do have the capacity to find that inner peace.

For this reason, people often surprise themselves when they are able to overcome incredible challenges, or even devastation, and come out of it a better person.

Some people, such as the young lady that Frankl speaks of in his book, do not make it out of the challenge alive, but they do find that "inner hold on the spiritual self" before they die.

The subject matter of Frankl's book can be quite heavy at times but the anecdotal stories are so powerful...

"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." ~ Viktor Frankl

[Next Gen Politics]

Thank you Kent. I don't have much of an intelligent response, only to say thank you for always posting things that make me re-examine the way I live my life and the way I prioritize. You are an essential part of my week. Keep up the good work Kent.

Jerame Clough
-Next Gen Politics

[semyhr]

Wise words but you need to have a strong personality to live by these words. That's why the weaker people fail in many things I guess. I think I belong to the group of weaker people so I need reminders like this all of the time.

[The Financial Philosopher]

Jerame / semyhr:

You both are wise to understand your weaknesses and realize that we all need reminders to keep perspective, especially in challenging times.

Truthfully speaking, reading and writing this kind of material is quite theraputic for me, as well...

Cheers...

[Andrew]

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your recent posts and to me the one of the underlying themes has been purpose. The following is an excerpt from Robert Rabbin that I feel ties in nicely.

Our purpose is not a thing. It is not a box. It is not a job classification. It is not a particular entrepreneurial venture. It is not something we can articulate definitively. It most certainly is not anything that can be found outside of ourselves.

I do not think we will find what we are looking for if we want our purpose to be defined from the outside, in definitive and concrete terms. Life itself has no purpose; it is a flowing, constantly changing stream of mystery, possibility, and surprise. Our desire for purpose is an expression of our alienation from that life-stream. When we live within that life-stream with awareness, our every impulse, our every movement, our every action is fully and wholly purposeful.

Thanks again for some great stuff.

[The Financial Philosopher]

Andrew:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and those of Robert Rabbin...

I can't help but notice that Rabbin's words, which I have not read before, are quite similar to the themes found in Taoism.

The formal beginning of Taoism, found in Lau-tzu's Tao Te Ching, refers to the Tao, or "the Way," as something that can not be described by words -- as something mysterious and unexplainable.

Taoism also centers upon the idea of "non-being," which will have us let go of our desire to make things happen and rather LET things happen.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts...

Kent