Happy In Spite Of Anything
In his renowned memoir Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl tells of his reinforced understanding of self mastery and the role of choice by way of his three-year concentration camp imprisonment. Having already dedicated some of his professional life to developing psychological theories anchored in the significance of a rich inner world, subsequent Nazi capture would serve as the most conceivably severe testing ground for these ideas (including that of always having a choice in one’s response to their environment, no matter the degree of suffering).
In the book, Frankl recounts an experience after imprisonment where someone showed him a photo of prisoners lying around in crowded bunks with dull, exhausted looks. The individual laments the photo, exclaiming what a pity it is. To the individual’s surprise, Frankl not only doesn’t share the lamentation but questions it, later detailing how the memory for him held an entirely different connotation.
“We were sick and did not have to leave camp for work; we did not have to go on parade. We could lie all day in our little corner in the hut and doze and wait for the daily distribution of bread (which, of course, was reduced for the sick) and for the daily helping of soup (watered down and also decreased in quantity). But how content we were; happy in spite of everything.”
If the ability to look almost fondly on an image representative of a circumstance so horrific isn’t indicative of the power of perspective, we’d be hard pressed to find an example that is.
The degree to which we consciously engage our capacity for refined thinking is the defining element. It is what will color how we experience any and all experiences. It does not mean we linger where we shouldn't or that we don't push ourselves and others for better; it means we have the perspective necessary to productively persist.
It means being free to be happy in spite of anything.
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