Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor. E. Frankl

This book is about the Author’s journey out of a Holocaust! He talks about his struggle in the Nazi concentration camps. His experiences help in realizing the real meaning of life which may have got blurred in the shortcomings of everyday routines.

What could be the Real meaning of my Life? There cannot be a better answer than Viktor Frankl’s.

Viktor Frankl writes:

“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We need to stop asking about the meaning of life and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly.

‘Life‘ does not mean something vague, but something very real and concrete, just as life’s tasks are also very real and concrete. They form man’s destiny, which is different and unique for each individual. No man and no destiny can be compared with any other man or any other destiny. No situation repeats itself, and each situation calls for a different response. Sometimes the situation in which a man finds himself may require him to shape his own fate by action. At other times, it is more advantageous for him to make use of an opportunity for contemplation and to realize assets in this way. Sometimes Man may be required simply to accept fate!”

He further writes that the best way to deal with life is to accept the situation and do the best you can, to turn it into something constructive. The following words are truly inspiring.

“saying yes to life in spite of everything” presupposes that life is potentially meaningful under any conditions, even those which are most miserable. And this in turn presupposes the human capacity to creatively turn life’s negative aspects into something positive or constructive. What matters is to make “the best” of any given situation!

Overall, the book is worth reading, mainly for the inspirational perspective of looking at Life and also for remarkably expressing the experience of living in the Concentration Camps. This book also contains a separate Chapter on Logotherapy which is another significant mention.