I had several conversations this weekend that made me think how easy it can be to give up hope for the future, specifically by losing confidence in the decency of mankind. There is so much corruption in the world and so little evidence of integrity. Staying positive and maintaining faith in humanity can be a challenge.
Born in Vienna to a Jewish family of civil servants, neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s worldview was greatly influenced by the time he spent as a prisoner in the concentration camps of Theresienstadt, Auschwitz and Turkheim. His wife and parents were killed while imprisoned in Bergen-Belsen, and he emigrated to the United States when the the camp was liberated by the Americans in 1945.
I had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz many years ago and it carries with it a heavy memory. It is awful what people will do to their fellow human beings, particularly in the throes of war. At any rate, Frankl somehow managed to maintain his faith in humanity despite having had to live through the atrocities of these concentration camp. Take a moment to listen to this presentation gave in Canada in 1972:
Rather than being a crab, look to crab into the winds you on behalf of your fellows. Expect the finest from others. Do all you can to keep your heart and mind open to the greatness inherent in others, no matter how deeply buried it may be!
Have a great day, my friends.
Gregory Hake 
My parents who survived the Japanese Occupation in the Philipines island gave me this to read when I was in my teens.
People can survive anything if they have hope and Viktor speaks of it all so eloquently.
Thanks for the post. 😉
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You’re welcome and I am sorry to hear that your parents had to live through such a challenging experience. Hope is vital but the willingness to act on that hope is what separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls. Thanks for sharing your story.
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This is such a great clip and a great example. It is amazing that Frankl would be able to view mankind this way after his experience in Nazi Germany. And the most important thing is that he is right! Thanks for the video!
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Thanks for the great start to each day that you provide Gregg through the wisdom and inspiration of not only your words but also those of others. And Viktor Frankl’s story is especially compelling for those who want to not only start their day but live their day looking for what is right in the world and in others.
It takes courage and genuine character to as a starting point in every situation and circumstance, and every person, to look for what is right, what is beautiful. Yes, there is a lot of muck out there but there is a lot of beauty out there as well – actually, when one looks at life through the prisms of what is right as a starting point, there is way more of abundence than lack – it simply depends on what one is looking for.
It seems to me that when one is looking for what is wrong than that person is living the exact opposite of courage – cowardice. And I guess that they will find what they are looking for won’t they!
Courage – making a positive difference in your world; they seem to go together. Outlook, perspective – they start shaping who we are in the process of becoming.
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Thanks for the insight, Gregg. It is easy to lose track of this when you focus on all the doom and gloom we see in the world round about. People are inherently great and we should allow people this opportunity instead of pigeon hole them according to our judgments of them. Thanks again!
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Amazing that for someone who endured such tragedy and cruelty he never lost his spark. Not only didn’t he lose his spark, he flamed it into a passion for life and learning that has been of great value to many throughout the world. Truly inspiring! No matter what our circumstances, no matter what is “dished” to us, there is a high road available to us.
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Wonderful clip! When we focus on what is right with people there is so much to appreciate.
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Great post Gregg!! These are inspiring words and great advice!
I can see how life’s potential can be made smaller right out of the starting gate by our limited, and sometimes jaded imagination. Humanity can depress you if you have only faith in its failure , but given enough stories of how people succeed over horrible situations you start to see the spark of potential that is necessary for faith in a greater possibility. People rise everyday to the occasion of greatness, we just miss it. It’s in the teachers, the doctors, the parents, the children and many others. We are each surrounded by greatness everyday if we take the time to see the spark that made life’s potential possible!
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Gregg this is such a wonderful reminder – and from a man who lived thru such a horrific experience, to maintain the ability to see and draw out the best in others – what an inspiration!
I read his book Mans Search for Meaning and highly recommend it. There is also a shorter version, exerpts from.
Very timely on a personal level – thanks
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