Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.
Viktor E. FranklRead
I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world may still know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when a man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way - an honorable way - in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Even in the depths of despair, one can find joy through love and contemplation of a beloved.
This quote by Viktor E. Frankl illustrates that even in the most dire circumstances, such as experiencing profound loss or desolation, an individual can find a fleeting sense of happiness or fulfillment in the love for another person. It emphasizes the power of love and the inner strength that comes from cherishing memories of a beloved, suggesting that love can transcend even the harshest realities of life.
Themes
BlissLoveSufferingContemplationFulfillment
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about resilience, one might say, 'As Viktor Frankl noted, even the most desolate conditions can yield moments of bliss through the contemplation of love.'
More from Viktor E. Frankl
All quotes →The crowning experience of all, for the homecoming man, is the wonderful feeling that, after all he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear anymore—except his God.
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Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.
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It is the pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness.
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Logotherapy sees the human patient in all his humanness. I step up to the core of the patient's being. And that is a being in search of meaning, a being that is transcending himself, a being capable of acting in love for others.
Viktor E. FranklRead
The more one forgives himself - by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love - the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.
Viktor E. FranklRead
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