Frankl's Wisdom

When we are no longer able to change a situation we are challenged to change ourselves.          

 -V. Frankl (March 26, 1905-September 02, 1997, Vienna)

Dr. Viktor E. Frankl is one of my all time heroes. He had a very successful neurology and psychiatric practice in Vienna during the World War II era until he was arrested and imprisoned for being a Jew. He survived three years in German concentration camps, including Auschwitz. He, as well as millions, suffered inconceivable horrors; yet the lucky ones that came out alive endured. Somehow when there was no hope they found hope and it’s because they had the attitude reflected in Dr. Frankl’s quote above.

One of the other profound things this man said was, “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

This brings me to my own recent changes and reflections. In the past several weeks I have begun, finally, for the first real time in my life, to embraced change and own up to my past as well as current choices. It hasn’t been easy, nor do I expect it to be in the future. With that said, I am still amazed at how easily I am currently able to assimilate the changes in lifestyle and attitude I have been making.

Case in point (or several at that) I have eaten those nasty green things called vegetables in the past few days and liked them—or at least not gagged on them. I have been regularly participating in exercise—walking, did the gym today, (going back tomorrow) and all this whole heartily! (Was able to find an inexpensive local gym). I have even started to tackle those things in life that we sometimes avoid—getting my finances in order, developing a do-able budget and sticking to it, doing household chores that are long overdo and working on making positive changes in my relationships with my family and friends.

I ask myself, how did this happen? And though I am not sure, I believe it is because I have stopped fighting myself, stopped lying to myself and begun to take the long overdo responsibility for all MY choices. It is not my husband, my kids, the dogs, the lady standing in front of me at the store that irritate me or make me laugh. It is me who decides how and what I feel and more importantly how I react to that stimulus. If you’re a crazy ass driver that’s your problem (hope you don’t get in an accident). But instead of me getting all stressed out and shaking my fist at you, I can chose to go around you or change lanes or… When my muscles are screaming at me because they hurt, I could whine and just quit the exercise thing.  Or, I can recognize that my body is telling me one of two things--slow down I've had enough or that it's telling me it is getting healthy, it is transforming. When the kids are bickering like kids sometimes do and increasing the household stress level, or when the past due notice arrives, or when I feel unhappy because something didn’t go my way, I can chose not to eat those Lays chips, but instead go for a walk, fold some laundry…be thankful I have kids, that I have a job…

I know and finally understand and EMBRACE that with or without the support of love ones and even complete strangers, that my reactions, my attitudes, are what I chose them to be. And if I chose to eat those chips or that brownie or if I can’t pay the entire cable bill that I have not failed. I can take a deep breath and try to improve on my short comings and be joyous that there was a brownie to be had.

I will close with this final quote from Dr. Frankl, “Man is capable of changing the world for the better if possible and of changing himself for the better if necessary.”

I am doing what I can for the world and I AM changing myself for the better because it is necessary. It is my choice.