Episode 35: Suffering

"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering." - Friedrich Nietzsche Celebrated Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl (March 26, 1905–September 2, 1997) remains best-known for his indispensable 1946 psychological memoir Man’s Search for Meaning - a meditation on what the gruesome experience of Auschwitz taught him about the primary purpose of life: the quest for meaning, which sustained those who survived. For Frankl, meaning came from three possible sources: purposeful work, love, and courage in the face of difficulty. As I attempt to understand his writing, I offer this short podcast episode. My hope is that you can find purpose in your suffering so that you not only survive, but thrive in your current circumstance.