Daily Times

Sometimes the aura of hardship and suffering gets so high that we fail to imagine life beyond sufferings. In such situations, we either commit suicide or feel pity on ourselves. In this case, we never think of life beyond all these sufferings.

The life of Viktor Frankl, the author of ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’, was filled with unfathomable situations at a concentration camp, where he was dying each day but yet struggled for his survival. And finally, with all those devastating situations, he was rewarded with freedom.

In this book, which consists of 154 pages, the author has shared how he was searching for that reason for his survival. The man, who could not hope to live the next minute, experienced the vibes of freedom after a long period of time.

The only hope that kept them facing all the deteriorating situations was seeing the dawn of a free dawn. As in the camp, they faced the worst situations ever in their life by being around some evils for whom these prisoners were nothing more than a flesh of bodies. But yet they worked harder and represented themselves so strongly that they must not be killed because of their vulnerable situations.

From the first day at the concentration camp, Frankl understood that he would be going through the worst phase of his life. Therefore, only his struggle for his survival might reward him with another beautiful start. Thus, he kept himself energetic for every new task he was to be given.

We never remind ourselves of how life could be cruel for some until we live it ourselves. The value for minor things matters when we become deprived of them. Similarly, Frankl tells us through his words the essence of life and that we are to make use of every harsh phase bravely.

That’s how I feel when I read the struggle of a man who is searching for a meaning to live his life even at the worst phase. We have never had such a tantalising phase of life where we have thousands of reasons to die, but yet that one meaning keeps us going. The faith and struggle of Frankl at these vexed situations have been able to guide the readers to search for that one purpose that can help them be optimistic. Throughout the book, Frankl was very explicit. He elaborated every tough situation that he, along with other prisoners, went through. But yet they patiently waited for the dawn of independence. This was something that made me curious to read this book that how they were going to have their question of freedom get solved. Initially when I started reading this book, I thought this man would not get the meaning he was searching for. It is because of the recent story of Leo Tolstoy, “God sees the truth but waits,” where the innocent man was punished to his death because the meaning of his innocence was found late. Hence, I was thinking that in search for that meaning, the man must not end in smokes. But as it is said, “Ends statisfy the mean.”

A man with the worst phase of his life finally experienced the joy of freedom. This book, resultantly, compelled me to find the beautiful meaning of my life, whether that is my family or anything other desire that must help me sustain my struggle and should help me live for that beautiful meaning of my life.