reading

Man’s Search for Meaning

Meaningful Life

• he who has a why to live for can bear almost any how (Nietzsche)
• man’s search for meaning (not pleasure or power) is the primary motivation in life
• this meaning is unique and it must and can be fulfilled by him alone
• it differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour
• there is no general meaning of life in but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment
• it’s not about what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us
• the meaning is not found in talk or meditation but in right action and right conduct
• it’s our responsibility to find the answers to life’s problems and to fulfill our tasks which life constantly sets for each person
• these tasks differ from man to man and from moment to moment, thus it’s impossible to define the meaning of life in general terms

Suffering

• has no limits and is an ineradicable part of life just like death
• in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it
• is unavoidable, but is not necessary to find meaning
• forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose your attitude and how you will respond to the situation
• we are never left with nothing as long as we retain the freedom to choose how we will respond
• suffering, like gas, completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little
• difficult external situations are opportunities to grow internally
• transform tragedy into triumph and turn a predicament into achievement
• suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice

Success & Happiness

• don’t aim at it - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it
• can not be pursued; it can only be ensued
• you can’t just wish to be happy, you must have a reason to be happy; just like you can’t laugh without a reason
• is a by-product of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself
• pleasure must also be a by-product and not a goal

Love

• is the ultimate and the highest goal to which a man can aspire
• the salvation of man is through love and in love
• love goes far beyond the physical person, it finds its deepest meaning in the spiritual being
• whether or not the person you love is present or is even alive is not important

Judging Others

• no man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honestly whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same

Right & Wrong

• no one has the right to do wrong, not even if wrong has been done to them

Regret

• use it as an opportunity to change oneself for the better

Mortality

• use it as an incentive to lead a more responsible life

Aging

• no need to pity older people
• older people don’t have possibilities in the future, but they have realities in the past - the potentialities they have actualized, the meanings they have fulfilled, and the values they have realized
• value of each person is based on the value they have realized over their entire lifetime, and is not contingent on their present usefulness