Reflections: Man's Search for Meaning

Almost every other day, I find myself feeling bad at my ignorance of truly brilliant books, and alternately feeling overwhelmed and almost desolate at the thought that I can in no way read even half of all the wonderful books available in my lifetime. I am not sure how I got by all these years without coming across Man’s Search for Meaning.

Victor Frankl was a psychiatrist who put forth the theory of Logotherapy, based on the core existential philosophy that man’s fight for survival, even in the most grim and tragic circumstances is because of his ability to attribute meaning and purpose to his life. This might seem  very simplistic and almost intuitive (or counter-intuitive), but the depth of this theory comes to light as Frankl assesses it during his three years at the Nazi concentration camps. This is an extremely inspiring, practical and realistic book, which holds a very special place in my shelf.

One would think that the repeated mentions, memoirs and stories surrounding the World War II and the concentration/death camps would eventually make one turn a little numb at the horrors and extent of dehumanization. But no matter how many versions you hear, see enacted, or read, the horrors intensify and haunt you even more. I can’t imagine how there were human beings who survived through so much damage to the body, mind and spirit. I am one of those who wouldn’t even survive if I were asked to imagine it all for a day. Frankl’s recounts at the concentration camps touched me so deeply, almost flipping my heart inside out, because of his approach at narrating his experiences, the tone he takes, and the analytic angle he deftly uses to dissect the prisoners’ (and the guards’) psychology - the stages of their mental states, the reasons for them, and the ways by which he and some others manage to rise above it all.

Frankl started working on Logotherapy as a potential psycho-therapeutic technique to help people combat depression, and thoughts of suicide. At the concentration camps, he could use his personal experiences, as well his objective observations of his fellow prisoners to validate his speculations and theories. His book therefore has a fine balance between realism, philosophical speculation and psychological validation.

I agree with his underlying assertion that human beings abandon their will to survive and get bogged down in depression if they lose their anchoring to find a meaning, a cause, a purpose, or any goal in their life (i.e., if they sink into an  existential vacuum). Doesn’t matter if life probably is indeed meaningless, random and arbitrary (as the Nihilists believe), or if the innate purpose of our existence is merely the procreation of our genes (as the natural-selectionsists assert). At times of intense tragedy and absurd circumstances, it doesn’t help to be reminded that Life is random and meaningless; such a belief is likely to crush the spirit, and worse, bring out the animalistic tendencies of survival. It’s much more practical and utilitarian to orient ourselves to a goal, a meaning or a purpose to develop and refine our most humane tendencies and mature the spirit. It’s by far the most constructive technique of growth and acceptance.

Frankl regards human-beings to have the potential to face the worst, and emerge unbroken in spirit. He views them to be much more than “brain-machines”, a humane departure from most other scientists and psychiatrists. He therefore rejects the notion that human-beings can be reduced to their biological determinants. I strongly favor this approach, although I keep my mind open to every possible theory. I realize that it’s good to be in a state of equilibrium with regards to such theories and speculations on the human mind/spirit, for it helps one stay objective. But in dire situations, I concede that it’s natural and even necessary to adopt a tragic optimism (in Frankl’s words) to remain strong in spirit and continue working towards something constructive.

I reached a kind of epiphany with Frankl’s assertion that, suffering needs to be attributed to a cause or a purpose for it to be bearable. How true! That’s all the mind needs to know to reconcile with pain and misery. And that’s precisely the reason why Religion tries to associate meaning, even if they be myths, to every suffering possible (more wonderfully argued by Jopseh Campbell, in The Power of Myth). And Spirituality teaches techniques to reach a state of equanimity wherein we view suffering as means to our growth. I appreciate the fact that all of these techniques and preachings eventually lead us to take responsibility of our Life, and remind us that we are in control of the attitude we adopt to deal with the circumstances. The Nihilists may just regard this as a boost to the Human-Ego, which it probably is, because of the pedestal on which we place the human spirit and its ability to elevate, but it’s a wonderfully practical tonic! Doesn’t matter if we live through an illusion of sacrifice and a lofty ideal, if it helps us embrace the unimaginable.

I strongly believe that techniques of Logotherapy are one of the most practical approaches towards psychotherapy. It deals with providing people who are struggling with misery, a meaning and goal to work towards. The existential purpose need not be arbitrary or even idealistic. Even the basic responsibilities - such as being responsible for our family, is a valuable goal. It urges us to take responsibility of our life, and reminds us that our life is something unique and irreplaceable. Neitzche’s words are quite apt -  “He who has a Why to live for, can bear almost any How”.

This is a book that I’m sure to resort to multiple times to gain inspiration.

Reflections: The Land of the Blue Flower

I think I’m going to start sounding like an old broken record when I write about children’s classics. But I can’t help marveling at these authors and wish so dearly to go back in time and relive my childhood days with books such as these teaching me wonderful little principles of leading my life in such simple and enchanting ways.

King Amor’s father was a selfish and greedy ruler of his beautiful land. His foul temperament reflected on his people too, for a shaky, ruthless governance leads to conflicts within locals. When Amor was born, his father got killed in a battle, and  his mother, the Queen didn’t wish her son to grow up in a place filled with hatred and vengeance. She handed him over to a wise old man who lived in the nearby mountains. She asked him to raise him well and bring him to his rightful throne when he was old enough to be King. The old man took the child to a serene palace up on the mountains, and taught the child how to commune with Nature, and to regard every animal and plant as his own kin. The child was infused only with good and positive thoughts and energy, that he never experienced any negative emotion such as hatred, anger or pain. When Amor grew up, he was as peaceful and wise as the old man himself. The tale is all about how this young prince goes to his kingdom and reforms his land and people - using his refreshingly positive attitude and clean and peaceful spirit.

If you’ve read Burnett’s The Secret Garden, you must be familiar with the themes she teaches kids. This tale has the same themes, but is conveyed through a slightly different story. She warns kids against harboring negative thoughts, gently showing that negativity only depletes our energy and prevents us from doing anything constructive. If we focus on creating something beautiful, and put our heart and energy into it with an open and positive spirit, we can create magic.

Burnett loves gardening and growing flowers (my kindred spirit!). So she uses the same example to show us the world of good that can come out of going out in the Sun and interacting with Nature. If we truly appreciated Nature and lived one with it, Nature and her children will reciprocate our kindness. And the best way to reform people is through kindness and compassion. 
 
Can a children’s book that covers themes on peace, the importance of respecting Nature and our environment, the power of positivity and the human will, and the futility and risk of negative thoughts, get any better? Plus, it’s all spiced up in a cute fantasy story that flows with Burnett’s wonderful prose. Children should not miss this book.

Reflections: The Secret Garden

After all these years, I still keep discovering so many more truly timeless Children's Classics. Enid Blyton's books reigned supreme as children's books in India, that people like me somehow never got around to reading other classic books as kids. The Secret Garden is quite easily one of the most wonderful and charming books that I would heartily gift to little boys and girls. I would lovingly mandate all my little cousins, nieces and nephews to read this before they hit their teens. As a matter of fact, I would be that annoying lady who would insist on shoving books in front of children who haven't taken to reading yet. And if I come across an adult deeply wallowing in their furrowed discontentment, this is a book I would give to rekindle the child within them and bring a little smile and hope.

Mary is a scrawny little girl, who is completely abandoned and neglected by her parents; so much so, that sometimes people even forgot she existed. Not knowing what it means to be loved or cared, Mary grows up as an indifferent, obstinate girl. Following her parent's death, she is shipped off to live with her uncle - a supposedly grumpy and ill-tempered man with a hunchback. Her uncle's house is a sprawling mansion housing its own mysteries and secrets. Despite living by a beautiful Yorkshire moor, the mansion exudes an eerie air, with its locked rooms, unused corridors, mysterious cries... and a locked garden. Mary slowly gets used to her new environment and unravels a few mysteries. Her gripping loneliness makes her reach out to people, animals and even plants. The locked garden piques her innocent curiosity and she sets on a little adventure to battle her boredom. She finds the key to the mysterious garden and works hard on replenishing it, till it thrives with beautiful flowers. She hoards her little secret with two other young boys and together they discover how simple pleasures in life and positive thoughts can create Magic.

I expected this book to be about fantasy and magic, with elves, pixies and fairies leading the children on a little ride into their fantasy world, but what a pleasant surprise the book was! The book teaches kids that we all can create magic and miracles without the need for pixie dust and powerful wands. Burnett carefully guides children into the realities of our world, but without ripping apart their delicate and rich imaginations. The children find out that magic lies within them; "good magic" is about invoking good, positive thoughts of what we would like to see happen, and then trying our best to act on them. Magic is that fleeting power that combines the forces of Nature along with human will and unadulterated faith, to bring those things which we resign as being impossible, to fruition. Burnett beautifully expounds a weighty topic dealing with the power of the human mind, with simple and intelligent grace. She slowly builds a little mystery in the story, gently tugs thought-provoking questions and explains it all in an endearing tale of optimism and hope. The book also intersperses little morals on kindness and compassion. The story reaffirms that laughter is a wonderful medicine for the mind, and that the world can be viewed in a different light if we called out to the child inside of us. I marvel at how eloquently the book is written to appeal to children and adults alike.

I loved how refreshing the book was, with its beautiful and vivid descriptions of a garden blooming to life, and the promising revival of the children into healthy, happy kids. I couldn't have found a better time and season to read this book. With Spring marching its way into our gardens, the book would egg any reader to go out into the sunshine, revel in Nature's bounty and free their mind of clutter and negativity with every caressing breeze. The book is a bundle of happy, positive vibes sure to cast a spell on any reader.

I Believe in Angels...

As Abba sang, "If you see the wonder of a fairy tale.... makes you take the future even if you fail. I believe in angels, something good in everything I see..."

The child in me still believes in fairy tales. Cinderella and Rapunzel were not happy till the end of the tale, were they? They had cruel witches and horrible curses till Prince Charming rode along to rescue them. But the modern Cinderella that I like to see myself as, no longer believes in the Prince Charming part. No knight rescues damsels in distress these days.... damsels need to learn to rescue themselves. But just as Cinderella had her fairy God Mother and friendly little mice, Snow White had her friendly little dwarfs, and the Little Mermaid had Sebastian, the lobster, the ones to truly help these little damsels out of their distress, I like to believe in little angels. If you think about it, the knights/princes have only kissed and danced with these princesses in the name of breaking curses!

I watched an old episode of 'Ally McBeal' where a stock broker was fired as he was deemed mentally unstable for believing in seeing a unicorn. A person seeing something that others couldn't and believing in something that others normally wouldn't are prone to being judged as schizophrenic, and with good reason many times. But as the lawyers argued, religious beliefs are based on supernatural occurrences. If one claims to see Santa Claus or Krishna, he is revered, but when one claims to see unicorns or centaurs they are jeered. A nice example of hypocrisy.

Anyway the point I was trying to make is that, sometimes relying on the child inside of us lightens any situation we need to face. As a child, our hopes were alive and ever optimistic. Everything I saw as a child had a sparkle of imagination and magic to it. The gross frogs in the garden were seen as princes under curses, the nagging teachers were imagined as witches who would vanish when water was poured over them, my new shoes were thought of as Dorothy's shoes waiting to be clicked to transport to a different land, the loud noisy train turned into a magical rattling box.... adding a little pixie dust to everything around made the world so surreal and different. It makes us see the little angel that got out of Pandora's box - Hope.

Why lose that child inside me, when it helps me see the world through tinted glasses? Borrowing Abba's lines,

"I have a dream, a fantasy.... to help me through reality. And my destination, makes it worth the while. Pushing through the darkness, still another mile. "