I have recently read and re-read the book by Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search For Meaning. The book shares with us the experience the author has gone through in the concentration camp, how it is on the mind level.
Is man just by product of conditional and environmental factors ?
Does man have no choice of action in face of circumstances like those in concentration camp ?
From what had happened in the concentration, accordance to what the author had gone through and what he had observed, man can preserve the vestige of spiritual freedom, the independence of mind, even in that kind of terrible condition under lots of physical and psychic stress. And that everything can be taken away from a man but the last of the human freedom, to choose our attitude in life in any given set of circumstances.
There is no way to compare our life with those in the concentration camp. Yet it does teach us what resilience is all about.
Without resilience, we will not have the inner strength to rise us above what is happening at the particular moment in time.
It is just like a student who has never worked before, suffers during her internship. The company is good, with nice supervisor, yet she is unable to take the stress even when the amount of work given is not really too much. And she shows attitude to her supervisor.
While another student during internship, her dad was admitted to hospital and in high dependency wards, in critical conditions. His conditions have not been ideal for the past few years, yet she and her family is dealing with it in a very positive manner. She still goes to work, does her best with whatever given to her, even though the work load may be high sometime compared to the other peers in the same company. She never complains.
Both of them are about the same age, yet the level of resilience is so different.
Resilience cant be built overnight . It is a very important life skill that we must have. In the following post I will share a little more on what we can do on it, and what I have learnt from the book in regards to that.
For now, lets spend a little quiet time, to ponder on our own resilience, is it sufficient? how fast we are rebounding during time of difficulties?
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If you wish to support the author, Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search For Meaning, you may purchase the book, it will be surely a great gift for yourself or your loved ones
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