Man's Search For Meaning

"Man's Search For Meaning"
Written By: Victor E. Frankl 
Christian Writer and 

About Victor E. Frankl: He published Man’s Search for Meaning in German right after WW II. The first English translation was published in 1959 by Beacon Press (Unitarian). This book has been printed in many languages and sold in many millions of copies. About two-thirds of the book is devoted to his concentration camp experiences.  Frankl described logotherapy as, “... education toward responsibility.” Each of us is responsible for something, to someone. By using our freedom to act responsibly in the world, we uncover meaning in our lives. Frankl’s main message is that while we may have no control over what happens in our lives, we always have control over how we respond, how we feel. He practiced daily prayer until his death.

The purpose of life according to Frankl is, "To live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in suffering. If there is a purpose in life at all there must be a purpose in suffering and dying. Friedrich Nietzsche quotes, "He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how."

the paradox about success and happiness in Frankl's opinion is, "Don't aim at success. the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must be ensue, and it only does at the unintended side effect of ones personal dedication to a cause greater then oneself or as the by product of ones surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it."

We live in a corrupt world. the sort of person we become is based on our decisions not the result of our corrupted world. Seek God.

Frankyl quotes, "Life becomes meaningless for people who do not take their life seriously and despise it as something of no consequence." "Emotion which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear picture from it." "It doesn't really matter what we expect life, but rather what life expected from us."