Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Will to Meaning




The Will to Meaning is overwhelming the most vital task any soul can
accept. I can say that my journey has taken me down many a path,
I have breathed the air of many a moment filled with aspiration and
inspiration but to say I know, I feel, I live with full meaning would of
course not be truthful to self or others.  I can look in the mirror and
feel good about self some days, less the next but the pattern remains
as I remain without a true meaning that can transcend itself to a
level where thought or questioning is no longer required.  For when
a man, or a woman, or a child comes to know meaning such as this
there is no longer questioning involved - it just is, it becomes and most
of all it fulfills a purpose without measure of time or age or want of more.
More does not matter and matter is placed in proper perspective
with promise of receiving non-existent or expected only acceptance
of task, or love, or purpose within the meaning  defined to the heart
and mind. 

So how does one come to know this Will to Meaning that Viktor Frankl
speaks of, that meaning that for him saved him from a gas chamber, or that
meaning that holds such specific purpose even unto ones own death.  My
soul here swings back and forth as a pendulum in time, as a chime in the
wind yet both have meaning in measurement or song.  Surely there lies
something with greater purpose unhidden before my eyes.  And who is it
that I call upon to understand this calling should I find it?  Who would
you call upon and how easy is it to know an answer as real?  Save the
continuous rattling of the brain I carry there a few stars that appear to
light a way, does one of them have  meaning for me I suppose I will
not know unless I seek it.  And I suppose  I would not seek it so
fervently in full if Frankl had not gifted the world with his souls own
search for man's meaning sparing us from depths his soul took to bring us
human insight.....bkm


Man's Search for Meaning is one of the most important books I have read within my life.  I highly recommend it for anyone interested in understanding the capablities of the human spirit...bkm

13 comments:

  1. i really like the way you write about love, meaning and everything so kindly
    this seems to be a soft,beautiful blog

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  2. thank you stopping by...and leaving a comment..bkm

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  3. By the words you've written, I've come to the conclusion that I need that book...


    I also liked the tone and flow of this piece.. every line is consistent & as powerful as the one after & before.

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  4. Anthony it is a book if you read you will never forget that you did....bkm

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  5. hmm...have not read it but will most certainly put it on the list...

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  6. Great observations, Frankl's a serious boy to be sure but here's an odd observation: Not everyonoe is wired for meaning. My wife, for instance, is sure I think too much. "Things just are," she says, and she's right. Some women are wired to have babies, others aren't. Some men are tinkerers, others are thinkers. Something genetic determines just how much gusto we have for something like meaning, and we aren't all larded with the same genes. Writers as a rule are meaning-mongers. I'm not sure painters are. Go figure ... Brendan

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  7. sounds like a must read, thank you for sharing.

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  8. Agreed Brendan that people are definitely different and some are thinkers and others are not, but I believe that meaning goes to a separate level. It can be simply that something must be fulfilled even a painting or the raising of a child(that is how I thought when I was younger with small children) there is purpose in that, future in that. Deeper meanings seem to carry some throughout their life and others have none which leads them to a trail of despair. A true life justs is when all is going well, when caught in an environment without control as the Jews life takes on more than a just is...Why? steps into the picture and Why wants meaning behind the answer. I do believe some dwell on the subject more than others, writers being a good case for it because most want there work to have an impact on someone and to do that it must hold some meaning beyond mere words....bkm

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  9. Powerful essay, Barbara....and a powerful book by V. Frankel....I will have to read it soon. For many reasons.

    The will to live, too...to live forward with something that doesn't desert you....children grow up...mates divorce or die....it's this 'something'...something that propels us towards a life in the future....something deep inside, that may take a lifetime to know, reveal...but gives purpose to continue to live and to thrive.

    But I think writers are in a good position to mumble foward in this: we are constantly seeking answers....or perhaps the imagery we concoct...leads us forward with vigorous trepidation...LOL! contradiction, yes, but I think that defines my forward projection.

    To find meaning....in life...is the engine. I think many are just so wired.

    Lady Nyo

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  10. that is a high praise...and i have not read it but i will rectify that...

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  11. Yes I found it an extraordinarily powerful book that I was at first reluctant to read. His tone seemed so detached; but then there he is, leaning on his shovel, when the bird flies down to keep him company, and it is his wife, his beloved, and somehow, he survives.
    Have you read Primo Levi's autobiography 'If This Is A Man'? I read it in my late teens and it has left a marked impression on my soul, as has 'Broken Glass' by Arthur Miller.

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  12. Thank you for the suggestions Shaista, no I have not read either i will add them to my list..I love biography...in my reading life bios were my first love...bkm

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  13. awesome book review.

    I am wondering if you are interested in working for bluebell books, we need someone to do Sunday Interview/New Release,

    your first post will be first Sunday in June.

    let me know by sending an email to

    bluebellbooks4u2gmail.com,

    thanks.


    also,


    check out short story slam today. hope to see your participation.

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