Fame, Fortune...Fortitude: Frankl(y), it's time for another visit with Viktor

Emerging from the Shadows: As we all begin to emerge from our homes and otherwise from the shadows of the pandemic, which is far from over but finally showing signs of slowing (e.g., "State relaxes rules on masks, outdoor gatherings...state officials say they're encouraging outdoor activities..."), thanks in no small part to the indefatigable efforts on our behalf by a legion of health care workers, scientists who arrived at a workable vaccine, cleaning service workers, grocery store stockers/cashiers, truck drivers, waste managers....if I've missed naming you explicitly here, I have thanked you over and over again silently--consider yourself profoundly appreciated. It seems to me to be decent timing for a refresher of Dr. Viktor Frankl's experiences, psychology, and larger philosophy I referenced here earlier, in attempt to provide some coping strategies for the road ahead, as the pandemic was starting to hit us all hard. Before I go any further, I have to acknowledge with a great deal of humility that there is no way for me, even as a seasoned psychologist, to completely comprehend what it would be like to endure the horrors that Viktor Frankl and countless others experienced at Auschwitz and over 40 camps designed for the extermination of hundreds of thousands of targeted people, operated by Nazi Germany during WW II, a site for the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". No more than I can equate what you or I have experienced with that of another.

At a Loss for Words: In the "Foreword" to Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" rabbi Harold Kushner (author of "When Bad Things Happen to Good People", another book dealing with survival and resilience) refers to a scene from Arthur Miller's play "Incident at Vichy" where a successful business man is essentially stripped of all his degrees, credentials, letters of reference, and other items signaling success by the Nazi authorities, after which he is left with nothing and is emotionally destroyed. Yes, the loss of everything (including fame and fortune) EXCEPT, as Kushner, Frankl, and other survivors of tragedy inform us, the freedom (and responsibility) to choose how we respond to such calamities. A "Foreword" which became a telling foreshadowing of Frankl's account, testimony, and philosophy for enduring the horrors of Auschwitz and a few other camps he was transferred to (eventually liberated while at Dachau). 

A New Day: Within a year of being liberated and discovering the true extent of his losses, Dr. Frankl delivered an inspirational talk "Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything", the contents of which echo a lot of "Man's Search" -- the emphasis on "In Spite" (or "despite") of what one is enduring at the time. As Frankl would point out (I believe) while there is no one in the audience today who will celebrate the pandemic and the vast collateral damages, while there is no one who will come out of this saying "I'm better off because of what I went through", each of us, including at this very moment when the siege seems to be easing a bit, have the freedom to engage life in its fullness and find meaning each and every day (read Frankl's book for a full accounting of what this meant in the crucible of the concentration camp), despite our circumstances that have befallen us. As I wrote here almost a year ago (June 14th), there is no one you or I can think of who hasn't experienced a loss of contact, opportunity, or income as a result of the pandemic, and the sadness that accompanies these circumstances. Locally, we witnessed a boy who spent two thirds of his young life battling the ravages of a brain tumor (which took him from us a few months ago), while his family was also enduring the pandemic, not being able to have the 'up close and personal' support of friends and family. During one acutely horrific phase of his treatment, observing his mother crying, he encouraged her, "Why are you crying mommy; it's a new day". Which became a witness for all of us of how, in the face of such incredible challenge, we have the freedom of meeting each day. 

From this Day, Forward.