in the light
There are times a single phrase can literally alter the course of your entire life.
I remember it was a bright sunny day and I was visiting Portsmouth, a beautiful city on the south coast of England. I just wanted to get away from the rat race of London and be with myself and my thoughts.
I was taking myself on a short walk following the Nelson Trail on the cobbled streets towards the waterfront with streams of ferries and navy ships.
“The existence of life is to suffer; to survive is to find meaning in suffering.”
Viktor Frankl
On my way, I came upon a small dusty second-hand bookshop with so little stock that I wondered how it survived.
Most of the books looked undisturbed on the shelves. By some sort of super force, I gravitated to a shelf and picked up a slim frail paperback titled ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ by Viktor Frankl.
The little book had obviously been read thoroughly as there were markings on pages by previous readers. Leafing through the pages I noticed these words highlighted: “The existence of life is to suffer; to survive is to find meaning in suffering.”
I was dumbstruck. I can’t fully describe the feeling that I experienced hearing those words.
As I continued leafing through a slip of paper floated out of the book and landed on the floor. These words jumped out at me: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
I bought the book for £2 which I keep on my bedside table. I was captivated by this tiny book full of knowledge.
Frankl also went on to say; “We each have the freedom, the power and choice to respond to any given situation that arises in our life. If you are not able to change a situation, you can control how you choose to respond to it.”
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