I have been re-reading Viktor Frankl’s classic, Man’s Search for Meaning. This is a powerful book, which impacts me every time I read pieces of it or even hear something about the book. Frankl was Jewish and spent considerable time in various concentration campus four different ones) during WW II. He is a psychiatrist or logotherapist, as he claims. I won’t go into all that means, since it is not pertinent to what I want to give focus. The book was originally published in German in 1946, very soon after the end of the war. My front cover says there are more than 12 million copies in the world!
Frankl died in 1997, so he lived a long life. There is some controversy among Jews as to how much Frankl really suffered in the concentration camps and whether even before the war had troubling collaboration with the Nazis. This is far too complicated for me and again not relevant for this inspirational reflection paper. Whatever the truth of those times, Frankl’s work has impacted me and I want to share one line with you.
The piece I want to share comes from a section in the book he labels “Life’s Transitoriness.” By this he means human beings are finite…we will not live forever. It also says to me that we are creatures living in time---that time naturally causes change. We are in the middle of change and we can’t change that. We can have opinions about it being good times or bad. But we can’t stop things. I must admit that this makes a great deal of sense to me. It seems true: no one gets younger!
He says that our transitoriness does affect our life, but “in no way does it make it meaningless.” Hence, change does not necessarily bring about meaning or meaninglessness. What transitoriness does mean is “it constitutes our responsibleness. I like this idea that we are responsible for our lives and for our meaning. If effect, he is telling us that life continues to come at us and change is the name of the game. Yet we bear the responsibility of dealing with it and making something out of it. That resonates with how I see things.
He continues by saying that life keeps presenting us with possibilities. Of course, they may not all be exactly what I wanted, but there are possibilities. Even in the concentration camps, he had possibilities---choices. Clearly in that context, his choices were not what he preferred. But he had choices. And so will we always have choices. This is where we will find our freedom.
He asks a basic question: of all the possibilities in front of us at any given moment, “which of these will be actualized? Which choice will be made an actuality once and forever, an immortal ‘footprint’ in the sands of time?’” To make these choices and, perhaps, to make good choices typically calls for some courage. Of course, we can simply give up---refuse to make choices. In that case, choices will be made for us. Life goes on.
Then comes the sentence that grabbed me. Frankl claims, “At any moment, man must decide, for better or for worse, what will be the monument of his existence.” What is my monument of existence? I never heard it put this way, although I have read his book before. Somehow I missed that. This time it grabbed me. I have often talked about “legacy.” This is a word we use quite a bit in higher education.
Legacy means how will you be remembered. It can mean what you leave behind---what were you known for? We see all around a college campus markers of legacy. There are names on buildings---usually for a substantial gift to name the building. We see pictures of past presidents adorning the walls. In gyms we see pictures of star athletes from the past. Current students see these pictures and laugh. They do not yet realize the transitoriness of life. Someday their pictures will look as funny and out-of-date. That is, even if their picture is there!
A monument of existence is a little different. I want to take it in the direction of being a tribute---a lasting tribute. We can take pictures down from the wall. Monuments are much more enduring. I also think Frankl is hinting at the spiritual dimension, which I clearly want to affirm. Mother Teresa is surely such a monument of existence. But she is not a good example because her example so lofty, most of us know we can’t match that. This is where Frankl helps.
He says that each of us individuals is unique and single. We will carve our lives into monuments in our own unique way. Our real choice is to make monuments or make messes of our lives. Remember, we do have choice. We have choice every day and every hour. We cannot abdicate choosing. Our only options are monuments or messes. One is admired; the other is cleaned up and discarded---lost to history because of insignificance. But why care?
You care only if you have a sense of God or of others---someone(s) who transcend yourself. If effect, this is love. To choose this is always a monumental (!) choice. Otherwise, you are just messing around.
Frankl died in 1997, so he lived a long life. There is some controversy among Jews as to how much Frankl really suffered in the concentration camps and whether even before the war had troubling collaboration with the Nazis. This is far too complicated for me and again not relevant for this inspirational reflection paper. Whatever the truth of those times, Frankl’s work has impacted me and I want to share one line with you.
The piece I want to share comes from a section in the book he labels “Life’s Transitoriness.” By this he means human beings are finite…we will not live forever. It also says to me that we are creatures living in time---that time naturally causes change. We are in the middle of change and we can’t change that. We can have opinions about it being good times or bad. But we can’t stop things. I must admit that this makes a great deal of sense to me. It seems true: no one gets younger!
He says that our transitoriness does affect our life, but “in no way does it make it meaningless.” Hence, change does not necessarily bring about meaning or meaninglessness. What transitoriness does mean is “it constitutes our responsibleness. I like this idea that we are responsible for our lives and for our meaning. If effect, he is telling us that life continues to come at us and change is the name of the game. Yet we bear the responsibility of dealing with it and making something out of it. That resonates with how I see things.
He continues by saying that life keeps presenting us with possibilities. Of course, they may not all be exactly what I wanted, but there are possibilities. Even in the concentration camps, he had possibilities---choices. Clearly in that context, his choices were not what he preferred. But he had choices. And so will we always have choices. This is where we will find our freedom.
He asks a basic question: of all the possibilities in front of us at any given moment, “which of these will be actualized? Which choice will be made an actuality once and forever, an immortal ‘footprint’ in the sands of time?’” To make these choices and, perhaps, to make good choices typically calls for some courage. Of course, we can simply give up---refuse to make choices. In that case, choices will be made for us. Life goes on.
Then comes the sentence that grabbed me. Frankl claims, “At any moment, man must decide, for better or for worse, what will be the monument of his existence.” What is my monument of existence? I never heard it put this way, although I have read his book before. Somehow I missed that. This time it grabbed me. I have often talked about “legacy.” This is a word we use quite a bit in higher education.
Legacy means how will you be remembered. It can mean what you leave behind---what were you known for? We see all around a college campus markers of legacy. There are names on buildings---usually for a substantial gift to name the building. We see pictures of past presidents adorning the walls. In gyms we see pictures of star athletes from the past. Current students see these pictures and laugh. They do not yet realize the transitoriness of life. Someday their pictures will look as funny and out-of-date. That is, even if their picture is there!
A monument of existence is a little different. I want to take it in the direction of being a tribute---a lasting tribute. We can take pictures down from the wall. Monuments are much more enduring. I also think Frankl is hinting at the spiritual dimension, which I clearly want to affirm. Mother Teresa is surely such a monument of existence. But she is not a good example because her example so lofty, most of us know we can’t match that. This is where Frankl helps.
He says that each of us individuals is unique and single. We will carve our lives into monuments in our own unique way. Our real choice is to make monuments or make messes of our lives. Remember, we do have choice. We have choice every day and every hour. We cannot abdicate choosing. Our only options are monuments or messes. One is admired; the other is cleaned up and discarded---lost to history because of insignificance. But why care?
You care only if you have a sense of God or of others---someone(s) who transcend yourself. If effect, this is love. To choose this is always a monumental (!) choice. Otherwise, you are just messing around.
Comments
Post a Comment