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
In a position of utter desolation, when 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 times of suffering, one can find fulfillment through love and contemplation.
Viktor E. Frankl emphasizes that in moments of profound despair, when one feels powerless to act positively, there is still a path to fulfillment. This path lies in holding onto the love for someone or something, allowing contemplation of that love to provide strength and purpose, even in the most challenging circumstances.
Themes
SufferingLoveEnduranceFulfillmentContemplation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a motivational speech to emphasize resilience in times of struggle.
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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