My take on "Man's Search for Meaning"

 "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human's freedoms- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

-Viktore.E Frankl 

This beautiful extract you just read is from the book "Man's Search for Meaning". Since I just finished reading the book, I wanted to talk about it's "impact". It's the kind of book which stays with you for a lifetime and what makes it so special is it's not exactly a "story book". The first part of the book describes Viktore's experience in a concentration camp, which is a place where minorities or political imprisonment happens. So the book has a very dark start. The author talks about his hopelessness, how difficult it was for him and people around him to find the will to survive, as these people were not thieves or murderers. These people were civilians, normal working class people with a normal job and a normal life just like us. We cannot imagine the circumstances these people were facing, which made it more difficult for me to relate or understand the book. These people were forced to live in a place which was not meant for them. These people were massacred and no-one could object that. They did not know if their family members were alive or not - Life was nothing more than a living hell for these people.

However with each of the author's experiences, he tells us how he survived and some others did not, because they lost the "will". In the second part of the book, these imprisoners were finally free. Free from the prison but still caged in darkest thoughts. Nothing for them was normal. Nothing gave them "true meaning" or true happiness. 

The last part of the book talks about logothearpy which means "search for meaning." The author who was also a professor of neurology and psychiatry had seen all of this very closely and could draw similarities between people who had spent time in prison and people who have always lived "normal" lives. He observed that most of the "normal" people were imprisoned in their minds. They were sad very sad, sad enough to give their life away because they saw no meaning to it exactly like the ones who had been in captivity.

So, what is the meaning of life anyway? ask yourself. The question in itself is absurd and does not have a specific answer. The meaning of life is not generic. There is no gate of heaven or steps to heaven waiting for us. There might be a heaven but, it's not all what we live for. Is it? 

All of us, consciously or unconsciously have a meaning, a goal. We all have somewhere to reach, something to achieve or someone to live for. Their is no life without struggle. Can you imagine your life without struggle? You will be left confused if I take all of your life's problems away. You will have nothing to come through, nothing to work hard for, nothing to show people: What you are and who you are where you are. 

We all are proud of our struggle. Probably not at time we are facing it, but once when we get through it, we wear it like a badge of pride. I have seen many older people wanting to be young again however I have never seen a lot of young people wanting to be old quickly. This youthfulness has an uncertainty. It has all the hurdles you have to go through, all the things you are going to achieve and be proud of later. 

at last we all want that heroic stories to flaunt about.