Finding the Why

Although I still have not completely finished Man's Search for Meaning, the central idea that Frankl brings about is one that has resonated with me for a long time. We are made who we are by the hardships we endure. Its a curious thing, but it really seems to me that this book brings secular legitimacy to James 1:2-4 "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

This is one of the hardest and most important lessons we will ever have to grasp as Christians. In some scenarios, we can take joy because we know that this temporary hardship will bring something better in the long run. However, in Frankl's situation, even that would be a stretch. I think that there are two sides of this coin. When we suffer, and the long term benefit is clear to us, then the struggle is simply to persevere through the suffering and take joy that the benefit is to come. On the other hand, when we reach those times in our lives when we genuinely dont see a light at the end of the tunnel, I would venture to say that the struggle then becomes simply to endure. In that act, in those times of absolute desperation when it seems like we're barely holding on, I believe that Frankl and James would both agree that in that act, you are strengthened more than any other time. To quote Nietzsche, it is in those times that we are driven to grasp our "why" and thus, our very meaning in life.

p.s. I commented on Susan's

Suffering and Equality

I know that everyone in the course of life is going to suffer. But are we supposed to suffer is the question. I believe that in order to truly experience life and to get the most out of it one has to suffer and suffer greatly. To not suffer would be the same as watching the KONY 2012 video and not feeling convicted or reading the crucifixion of Christ and not feeling the least guilty about a man that committed no wrong being murdered for no reason. Whether you believe that Christ is king or not you have to feel sorry about his death and the brutality of it.

Look at equality from the perspective of the Bible. Dr. Foley told this story in chapel yesterday. The one of a vineyard owner who hires some men in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. When time for payment came around he paid each the same amount. I think this is at least kind of similar to the chef in Frankl or at least that's what it made me think of.

I commented on Cody's

Why?

I cannot explain the plethora of emotions that I experienced during and after reading "Man's Search for Meaning", but I can say that I've recommended it to almost everyone who seemed remotely interested. Honestly, the biggest thing that I drew from the book wasn't a quote from Frankl, but a quite from Nietzche that he used on page 76.

"He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how."

Even though this is a very simple phrase, it just struck me deep. It got me thinking about people that I have met, and things that they have accomplished. Things that I never would have imagined possible, but they were determined because they had a "why". I thought about things that I've done that were only possible because of my "why", whatever it might have been at the time.  It also got me thinking about what my "why" currently is, and to be honest I was surprised at how long it took me to figure it out.  Of course, I'm not going to share my "why" here, because that would be too simple. Knowing my "why" might hinder the recognition of your "why", and we wouldn't want that, would we?

So what did we learn today? Secondary sources sometimes steal the spotlight? Socrates was on to something when he asked "why"? Ben is a terrible person for not sharing his "why"? All good answers. Tune in next week for the next exciting installment of "Why Me?" Starring Benjamin Folse, Evan Rachel Wood, Tim Curry, Helena Bonham Carter, Ewan McGregor and Kevin Bacon.

P.S. I commented on  Josh Spell's blog "Life is Beautiful" (Which is an AMAZING movie by the way, if you haven't seen it, you need to!)

P.P.S. I actually just recommended this book to another friend of mine while writing all of this.

Supposed to Suffer?

The night before honors, I was talking with Talmage in another class I have with him, and I made the comment that I "enjoyed" the reading. He looked at me funny in his Talmage way, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, and said, "I can't say that I agree. I wouldn't say I enjoy this reading..." Realizing what I had said about the material, I had to backtrack. So, do not take me for one of the sadists that we read about in Frankl, but hear me out...or read me out.

I did "enjoy" the reading, or like the reading...whichever you prefer to use. I learned a lot. And after watching Twitter updates and Facebook updates, I felt like I was the only one that felt this way. Maybe I am emotionally incapable of feeling what I am reading, though I doubt this is the case. I cannot say that I suffered while reading it. Truly, it makes me sad. I see what is before me, the pictures are clearly in my mind. But it does not cripple me, it does not leave me hopeless. Yet I still felt somehow guilty that I had not suffered while reading this while so many did.

But the fact of the matter is, even Frankl writes in a way that he seems almost distant from it himself, at least emotionally. I believe this is a coping mechanism once more. I believe this book is one of his final acts of reconciling the past. He has come to the point that he can write about his experiences objectively, but I believe that is because he has approached a new meaning by the time he writes this.

I have spent a lot of time in 1 Peter here lately. He speaks on love and suffering in a big way, in ways I cannot explain, but ways I have been able to share with others. I cannot explain it, you would have to read it for yourself. But I am not hopeless, I am encouraged. Reading about the drive people had in their circumstances--circumstances I may never know, it gives me hope in a strange way. Man's Search for Meaning furthered some lessons I have been learning, not studying. And learning means something to me, far more than any amount of study will. Yes, there is a difference.

COMMENTED ON RACHEL'S

Jesuits are not to be eaten?

     I just want to start out saying I love this book. Three reasons why? Okay then, here it goes. One, it has revealed to me how "religious denominations" mean nothing. Two, I totally was thinking I was reading book about persecutions much more recent; aI was surprised to see how I could relate to people who lived further in the past. I didn't even know there were missionaries to Japan in the 1600's. Three, I love the action and thrilling pace of the book (I also love that this is something based on reality).

    Just within the reading the prologue my heart was already breaking. I felt as if I knew these people, we were close friends, and then I had to watch them die. Then as I read on I realized that these people are Catholics, Jesuits, denominations that I have never trusted( no offense to anyone). These people, these are the ones my heart is breaking for.
    I really found myself relating to Sebastian Rodrigues.  No, I'm not a monk, but I am do fill called to be a foreign missionary.  At first I was judgmental of Sebastian, thinking he's prideful and rude (especially when he complains about the potatoes). Then he talks about how he feels compassion for the Japanese, and how he is embarrassed at his weakness compared to the Christian Japanese' courage. I can easily picture myself transitioning the same way Sebastian does. So I can relate to Jesuit monk? I guess Jesuits aren't just for eating. (Candide humor)
  All and all I love this book and can't wait to finish it! I especially love that I keep turning a page, and reading something happening in the 1600's, I never knew such intense persecution of Christians existed in Japan at that time. This book keeps me reading, and I can't wait to hear discussion on it!

Man's Search for Suffering

I want to note what seems to be a recurring theme in Man's Search for Meaning. Frankl seems to be telling us that Without suffering, our lives are meaningless. We discussed that suffering accompanies meaning in our lives on Tuesday. If we do not suffer for our beliefs, then we have no meaning.

I was convicted of this when we talked about it in honors. Here we are sitting in comfy little America, watching Kony 2012 videos, and feeling like social activists by clicking 'Like' on a status. We 'support' our favorite candidates by checking a box, not getting out and promoting their cause. Maybe, if we can spare $10 a month, we might use it to feed some random child in a third-world country. At the end of the day, have we really acted upon our beliefs?

Now don't get me wrong, I do not disapprove of any of these things. In actuality, I like the fact that these things exist. I am merely pointing our that our meaning gives way to our complacency. We don't feel like taking the effort to act upon our beliefs. We have lost our passion.

I'm not going to tell you what you should do. I'm not going to tell you what should happen. You know that. It's just something I've been struggling with, not only this week, but for a long time now.

~Cody Martin~

P.S. I commented on Brittany Hilbun's post: The Just Martyr

The Just Martyr

Just taking it back to "Man's search for Meaning" I really wanted to talk again about our discussion on Martyrdom. First of all, you don't have to be murdered for what you believe in to be a Martyr. By definition, a Martyr is simply witness, and there is no greater witness to a cause then someone who dies for it. We consider these people to be revered and brave. Unfortunately, many people like to discount our zeal for the furtherance of the gospel (even to the point of death) not something special. We call Abraham a great hero of faith because he was obedient even to the point of almost killing his son. Yet, those who are not under the Christian persuasion would look at that with apaul. They would reply something along the lines of : "Well the 9/11 terrorist did what they did because they were trying to be great Knights of Faith, and they really believed what they did would give them a great reward and favor with Allah."

It is only now that I am finning to true paradigmn. Sure, these terrorist were Martyrs. He's a witness. But is he just in doing so? A Martyr in Cambodia who gets his tongue cut out and is beaten until dead because he won't stop telling people about the love of Christ is, and I say boldly a just Martyr. Can you really not see the difference? The Martyr from 9/11 willingly and intentionally took the life of thousands and thousands of people for his cause. The Martyr in Cambodia willingly let his life be taken for his cause.

Now what about Abraham? Yes, Abraham sought to willingly and intentionally cause physical harm to his son. But he did so knowing that God would provide, even if it meant raising Issac from the dead. Do you understand? He knew Issac would be okay regardless of the situation!

Unless someone can show me that the high-jakers truly believed with all their heart that all those people they murdered would be "okay" I will attest in every way that they were unjust. But, I don't see "kill all the infidels" as something to help any arguments against this.

Do I Trust the Jesuits Now?

I am interested to see where Silence will go. Not just because I like to read but because what I ‘m reading is not what I expected. I expected the book to be about persecuted missionaries in the early 1900’s or Japanese Martyrs –not Spanish Jesuits in Japan. Yes, now that I think about it, Jesuits probably did go to Japan, because they went as missionaries to many places around the world. But, because I am used to thinking of Jesuits in a bad light (The Conquest of the New World, Eat some Jesuits, etc) I was shocked to find that two Jesuits are the main character cast in a good light. They have been through a lot just to get to Japan. They are heroic figures and I am used to comical figures or enemies made out of them. I wonder where Endo will go with the book? Why does he set his story in this place? I appreciate the suspense. I am still inching around them carefully and probably over analyzing the two main characters. I Watch what they say and sometimes criticize. But I am not far enough in the book to say whether or not they are heroes in the end. I suppose I will see and, until then I will have to get adjusted to the characters.

Just to be honest in the beginning in case I sound like I have completely lost my mind, I have not read Man's Search for Meaning. I can't even say that I haven't finished it, because I haven't even touched a copy of the book.

However, despite not having read the book (because I'm guessing the summary of a wikipedia article given to me verbally before class doesn't even close to count) yesterday's class was probably the most thought provoking, potentially meaningful Honors classes I have been in, and I can't even really express in words why. What I can verbalize, though, is that the idea of the meaning of life is not something I struggle with. I know that my life's sole purpose is to honor and glorify God. The methods by which I am to do this are not always clear, but I have rest and contentment in knowing where my meaning lies. And honestly, I believe that this meaning is the ONLY meaning that will terminate the further search for meaning in one's mind, making it the only true meaning. That is not to say that work isn't important, nor is it to say that earthly relationships are not important, but there is still a level of searching when a person defines his life's purpose by one of these things.

I have wrestled with the idea that maybe my answer is too easy, and maybe there is more to it, but it kind of hit me today: it is not that the answer is too easy. The answer is too simple. It is in no way an easy answer.

P.S. commented on "What is the 'meaning of Life'".

Silence

The first chapter in Silence really creates a sort of gray whirlwind. The descriptions of the people in the overly crowded cities, the description of the christians being persecuted... It was all so grotesque and depressing. Why is it that we are not aware of these things? We don't think about it in our day today lives as we lay out on the beach, or cram for tests--but there are starving, dying people all over the world. There were people in the Holocaust who died horrible, inhumane deaths. For some reason, we are able to think about those things in the abstract and they won't affect us. Even when we see pictures, or commercials, or even movies we start to become numb. It's almost like we have to put part of ourselves in something before we can really start to struggle with it--and then ultimately care. In a way, struggling to read about Christians being tortured in Japan, struggling over the issue of simply recanting has made me come out with a true answer. It's like Talmage said about Man's Search for Meaning: don't read it unless you are willing to struggle with it. In that struggle I think we find meaning. Along the lines of what we were discussing last class, I think the meaning we derive from various struggles may not always consistently be the same thing, but in a way they feed into the greater meaning of life.

Commented on Life is Beautiful

Soup

Today, I decided to get some broccoli cheese soup. As I scooped the soup into my to-go cup I thought back to Man's Search for Meaning when Frankl discussed the cook and how he gave equally to all and how some "staff" treated some of the prisoners. I think that part of the reason everyone was so quiet on Tuesday (hopefully, had NOTHING to do with a lack of reading) was because 1. Dr. T was talking and I think everyone is a little afraid of him now since our discussion pre-SB and 2. Frankl has to be processed and digested. I find myself drawing back to the thoughts posed and reflecting further. Little things like the soup moment that could have passed completely unnoticed seem amplified. The faster we live and the more wrapped up in our selves we become the less we notice those little things and significance. Those who have been slowed and restrained often can better assess significance and meaning.

Concentration Camps and the Waste Land

My thoughts are very scattered tonight. Frankl was fascinating to me, I liked it. But I keep drawing these parallels between the Holocaust and The Waste Land because we're filming tomorrow. The fascinating thing is that Frankl seems to really believe that selflessness- or the outward focusing of the self towards something else, gives life meaning. This is true in a concentration camp- but it is also true in the Waste Land.

I play a character who imagines herself playing a game of chess, my costume includes a fur coat and pearls. And I see what Frankl means- that my life is meaningless whether in a fur coat or in a concentration camp- if i am focused on myself. T. S. Elliot would agree. "O Lord thou Pluckest me out."

I wish I could write more, but I'm cramming a paper for another class.

I commented on Adding to the Noise

Looking Into the Heart of Dark, the Silence (Od' Und Leer Das Meer)

"As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being."
-Carl Jung

Due to various time constraints, this particular blog won't be as long as mine normally are, but I still have some good stuff to say. I know that the students of Brit Lit II are currently reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and if you'll give me two seconds to talk about it I'll tell you it's one of my favorite books. Naturally, I've noticed some interesting parallels between that and Shusaku Endo's Silence. For starters, both protagonists, Marlowe and Rodrigues, choose to travel by water into a dangerous and hostile foreign land and rescue a former collegue that may have failed his duties and gone rogue (Kurtz and Ferriera). Their fellow seamen are strange and unsavory, and the actual waterway is dark, winding, and filled with militaristic dangers. There is a station in between their starting and ending points, where they encounter complications. There is an oppressive "ideal" regime (British King/Japanese Shogun) and the subservient savages that are acually quite misunderstood and underestimated(Congo natives/Japanese serfs). In HoD, Kurtz actually did turn rogue and became arguably more savage than the Congoese people he manipulated. I don't know if the same but opposite fate will be true of Father Ferriera, though, but I look forward to finding out.

Thank you for reading, I hope it was informative! Feel free to comment as you please, I commented on Susan Berner's The Second Phase: Relative Apathy.

The Second Phase: Relative Apathy

Frankl states in in "Man's Search For Meaning" that the second phase of a man's psychological state in a concentration camp is a sort of emotional death he called the phase of relative apathy. It's like experiencing so many emotions at once at such an extreme level that after a while, it's just too much, so instead a person can't feel anything anymore. On page 23 Frankl writes "The sufferers, the dying and the dead, became such commonplace sights to him (a prisoner) after a few weeks of camp life that they could not move him anymore." I cannot image what it would be like to see so many horrible things, and to go through so much pain that I couldn't even feel sorrow for those who were hurt, or long for my home anymore. I think it is a good thing that Frankl talks about these psychological problems people face in the concentration camps, because in all of the other stories I have heard about the physical problems and had to fill in the emotional and psychological parts for myself. However, the author of this story attacks it form a different angle in order to make people understand just a little more what it was like to be a prisoner in a concentration camp.

I commented on a blog title "What is the 'meaning of life'" but I don't know who wrote it!

Susan Berner

Just Open Your Eyes

The whole time I was reading this, the song, "Life is Beautiful" by Sixx:AM kept repeating in my head. It is, in my opinion, one of the more inspirational songs that I have ever heard. The song was written after a member of the band got addicted and one of his friends passed away from an overdose. He finally realized that life has greater meaning then sitting around and getting hooked on drugs every day. The lyrics are incredibly powerful.

"You can't quit until you try. You can't live until you die.

You can't learn to tell the truth until you learn to lie.

You can't breathe until you choke. You gotta laugh when you're the joke.

There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive.

Just open your eyes.

Just open your eyes and see that life is beautiful.

Would you swear on your life that no one will cry at my funeral?"

That is only the first verse and chorus. The words are true. We need to suffer in order to live. If everything was perfect then there would be no need for life. We grow and learn through our experiences. Suffering is painful and it is not easy, but there is also a sense of empowerment after the suffering has ended. Suffering will not end until we each pass into the kingdom of God where we will live eternally in Heaven where there is no suffering or pain. But our suffering and pain helps us to grow and find our purposes. It took the suffering of an entire country during September 11th for my cousin to find his calling in the army. Sometimes suffering is what pushes us to reach our full potential. I got my final push to be a veterinarian when I had to hold my beloved cat's head together in the car as we rushed to the emergency vet. It hurt me deeply to see my cat on the verge of falling into death. We do not suffer just to hurt. We suffer because we need it to help us realize the deeper meanings in life.

P.S. I commented on His Beloved's post, What is the "Meaning of life"

Adding to the Noise

>>>Finish the book before reading further; there may be spoilers.<<<

In Silence, it is noted that the hidden Christians, when found, must trample an image of Christ Himself to signify their submission to the country. Some do carry out the rejection of the image, while others take their punishment.

I have a problem with both of these actions. They are both centered around an idol. Even if they trample the idols, this is not truly trampling Christ or even His ideas.

Another thought: 1 Peter 2:20 suggests that one is to endure unjust suffering. As Christians, we are not to flee from the punishment (government/established law) nor succumb to the immorality. If we choose God over an unjust law, the law is still broken and we must hold ourselves accountable to the punishment. Even if our cause is just, we are not permitted to riot or undermine for change.

Ad augusta per angusta,

Will Drake

[I commented on Joshua Spell's "Life is Beautiful."]

What is the "meaning of Life"

Frankl. Well, I actually enjoyed this. I feel the main topic of this entire reading is suffering/meaning.
 "If you do not suffer, you don't have meaning. So is our only meaning in this world to suffer? If that is the case, I WANT OUT!!! Ok, that was definitely a joke. True, we can not avoid suffering because everyone will have to go through it. It is a part of life. Some of the questions that we talked about really got me thinking. One specific question I just want to expound upon is "why would we say that meaning is not the same for everyone? Why can't "meaning of life" be defined in a general way?" We discussed that every person has a different meaning of life because we all have different goals. There is a basis from where one draws meaning. So no, every single persons "meaning of life" is not the same, we each have a different purpose, however we all have one thing in common and that is that we do have meaning. If we all had the same general meaning of life, I feel there would be no sense of hope.
   Speaking of a sense of hope, I also found the question: "Why does Frankl say that the prisoner who has lost faith in his future is doomed?" portrays meaning of life as well. If we lose faith in a future, we lose hope. If we lose hope, then we have no meaning in life. It becomes doomed. Nothing.
P.S i commented on

  

SILENCE! Night.

(I love the Achmed skit the comedian Jeff Dunham does, and I thought this title was slightly… calmer than “Silence, I kill you!”)
I was reading Silence and something that really stuck with me was how Sebastian describes the Japanese’s reception of Christianity-- I mean the common people, not the sadistic leaders. Sebastian says, “The reason our religion has penetrated this territory like water flowing into dry earth is that it has given to this group of people a human warmth they never previously knew. For the first time they have met men who treated them like human beings.” Early on in the passage, he says that the people in the village are poor farmers. I got the feeling that they had been really taken advantage of by their national leaders, and when the missionaries started coming over, they saw for the first time hope. Hope that there was someone who loved them unconditionally and who, most importantly, cared. 
That section left me wondering, is this how people feel now when we go out to minister to them? Are we bringing water to their thirsting hearts? This weekend is Cardboard City and earlier in the day UM students are going out to minister to the homeless in our area. This is such a great reading to be doing now. How many of the people we will see are in the same positions as these farmers and how many will feel hope for the first time in ages? Someone could come to know Christ just because you cared enough to sit and talk with them for a moment. In that moment, you could give them the biggest dose of kindness they've had in a long time. Food for thought.


P.S.: I commented on Rachel's "Soup"

Life is Beautiful

While reading Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, I was reminded of a film shown to my International Studies class in high school: Life is Beautiful, the saga of Guido Orefice, a fictional Jewish man who finds purpose and meaning amidst the Holocaust's terrors.

Guido's story, though not as somber as Frankl's, is just as poignant. He observes prisoners mostly devoid of hope, but for the sake of love, he endures the concentration camp and gives hope to his wife and son, also imprisoned. It was love that drove him to go on each day, even though the pain was great.

Frankl relates a similar experience in his book:

Hiding his mouth behind his upturned collar, the man marching next to me whispered suddenly: "If our wives could see us now! I do hope they are better off in their camps and don't know what is happening to us."

That brought thoughts of my own wife to mind... But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness...  Real or not, her look was more luminous than the sun which was beginning to rise.

Like Frankl, Guido "grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and human belief have to impart: The salvation of a man is through love and in love" (Frankl 37).

Life is beautiful not because the world is pristine- indeed, it is marred with bitterness and unspeakable cruelty- but because there is a glimmer of hope in the eyes of a child, untainted in innocence, and a memory of a wife, to whom her husband once clung in hidden joy. Life is beautiful because love is found in the rough. The hint of light that shines through the darkness is reason enough to live.

EDIT: I commented on Will Drake's "Adding to the Noise."