What's this book about anyway? Right? If we haven't read the book, we've certainly heard about it. Is it religious? Is is like a Doctor Phil book written in the 1940s? Can I get through the 150+ pages without falling asleep?Viktor Frankl was a psychiatrist who survived the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps. Before he entered the camp, his work on logotherapy had already begun. While in the camp, his research for logotherapy continued. And when he was freed, he shared his theory of logotherapy with the psychologic community. In short, logotherapy is man's search for meaning. Frankl argues that when individuals find meaning in their lives their tendency toward certain negative behaviors can be alleviated if not cured. He gives several examples of how, within and without concentration camps, this finding of a purpose serves as the means to survival. While he concedes that a finding of a meaning is not a "cure all", he has found that it is a "cure many" and that finding a meaning makes life for an individual better.
One of my favorite paragraphs speaks of love. He explains that while in the camp, he would often have conversations with his wife in his head. What would she say? How would her face appear in reaction to an answer? What kind of questions would she have? During the course of this imaginary conversation, he'd finish a hard day of work with cold, swelling feet, hardly noticing the horrible situation he was really in. He states:
"...my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look. Real or not, her look was then more luminious than the sun which was beginning to rise...A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth - that love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire...The salvation of man is through love and in love."Is love like that for you? I hope.
2 comments:
I've been thinking a lot about the idea of love. I've started to wonder if the only way one can REALLY understand sincere love is to love without concern for reciprocation. I feel that is how the Savior loved, and I hope I can love like that someday.
P.S. Ash, two book reviews in a row-- I am impressed. I need to read more these days. Thanks for the good example!
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