What Benjamin Franklin Teaches on “Becoming”

Remember Linda’s question to me last week? In one word—why are you not more effective? Were you able to pick a word or virtue that will be your quest this year? Let’s build on that idea with one who became a model for improvement, Benjamin Franklin.

I recently reread the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin understood well the idea of becoming. Through dedicated discovery and systematic self-improvement, he lived an attitude of abundance and joy. He noted, “Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day.” 

It is the little choices that inform the outcome.  

A little history about a man who made history…

Franklin was the youngest son of 17 children. He had modest formal schooling to the age of 10. He learned early that all education is self-education. One of his peers noted, 

Your biography will not merely teach self-education, but the education of a wise man; and the wisest man will receive lights and improve his progress, by seeing detailed the conduct of another wise man. 

Benjamin Vaughan

By his early teens he had taken responsibility for his own education stating:  

I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books…..Often I sat up in my room reading the greatest part of the night, when the book was borrowed in the evening and to be returned early in the morning, lest it should be missed or wanted.  

Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Franklin’s personal library included classics such as Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, Plutarch’s Lives, Locke’s An Essay concerning Human Understanding and Xenophon’s The Memorable Things of Socrates. His early education, and subsequent love of lifelong learning, was informed by these great books. Reading and learning became his routine. Each season of life found him making discoveries. He created his personal story by being eagerly engaged in building a future for not only himself, but for his community and for his country. 

A natural outcome of a love of reading? A love for writing.

Franklin’s love for reading led to a gift for writing. In 1717 his brother James returned from England with a press to set up a printing business. Franklin became one of the first employees. It was there he developed a passion for prose and poetry. At the press, he had access to many of the classic works that informed his education. He also became acquainted with a periodical called The Spectator. After reading it three times he was hooked on the beauty and power of writing. “I thought the writing excellent, and wished, if possible, to imitate it.”  

About this time, inspired by what he was learning, he published the first issue of Poor Richard’s Almanac, an eclectic collection of information and entertainment that helped to mold the American character and culture with adages both witty and wise. You may recognize these. 

  • God helps them that help themselves.
  • Good sense is a thing all need, few have, and none think they want.
  • He that has a trade, has an office of profit and honor.
  • A good example is the best sermon.
  • A lie stands on one leg, truth on two.

Each of these pithy sentences could stand as a daily sermon. 

Benjamin Franklin was always “becoming.”

Franklin’s dedicated self-improvement and the discovery and application of the principles of freedom and success allowed him to live his life in crescendo.  He exemplified his own classical trio of discovery, self-improvement, and happiness. 

Perhaps one of the crowning achievements of his life of “becoming” was developing what he called the 13 virtues to success. He even made a daily/weekly chart to mark and track his progress. Thus, keeping focus on his industry. It was during this time he noticed how difficult and painful it was to cement new habits, particularly ones that formed character. 

He captured the difficulty of improvement and change with this story. 

A man buying an ax wanted the speckled surface to be as bright as the edge. The smith consented to grind it bright if he would turn the wheel of the grinding stone. The grinding was grueling. Fatigue set in, and the man suggested he would keep the ax as it was. “No,” said the smith, “turn on, turn on; we shall have it bright by-and-by; as yet, it is only speckled.” Franklin observed, “This may been the case with many, who having, for want of some such means as I employed, found the difficulty of obtaining good and breaking bad habits in other points of vice and virtue, have given up the struggle, and concluded a speckled ax was best.” 

The story, and its invitation, is one of steady daily progress. So what is your word or virtue in becoming this year?

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. ed. Charles W. Eliot. Vol. 1. Harvard Classics. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Corporation, 1960.  

One Word and a Candy Bomber

Last night my wife Linda asked me a question that got me to pause and think.

“In one word, why are you not more effective?”

Lots of words began to flood my mind. That one word could be pivotal in my pursuit to become my best self in the coming year.

How about for you? Does Linda’s question prompt any words to come to mind for you? Keep this question in mind while I share a story.

A day trip, a grandson, and two sticks of gum

Late last summer I took one of my grandsons to the Aerospace Museum at McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento. Among the many things we saw and learned that day, one moment stood out—we were told a moving story of love, sharing, freedom and “becoming” about a US Air Force pilot who made a difference that started with just two sticks of Doublemint gum.

A man of action

In May 1945, combat in Europe ended when Germany surrendered to the Allies. As a result of peace agreements, Germany was divided into four zones administered by the United States, France, England, and the Soviet Union. The city of Berlin was located geographically within the Soviet Union’s zone, but it was divided into four separately administered zones like Germany itself. As tensions rose among Allied countries, the Soviet Union decided to block shipments of food and fuel into all of Berlin to gain control over all the city’s zones. The United States, France, and England responded by beginning the Berlin Airlift to sustain more than 2 million Berliners with food and fuel. Some 4,500 tons a day had to be delivered to prevent the city’s occupants from starving to death.

In July 1948, Gail Halvorsen was stationed in Mobile, Alabama in a squadron of pilots flying C74 transport airplanes. When the urgent call came for pilots to fly food and fuel to Berlin, Gail leapt to action.

The Airlift’s mission was clear: deliver food and fuel to Berliners so they would not starve or freeze to death. Along with hundreds of Allied pilots and crew, around the clock flights to Berlin began on June 26, 1948. The pilots flew from Rhein-Main to Tempelhof airport near Berlin, a former base of Hitler’s Luftwaffe. From the air, Gail could see the total devastation of Berlin. He felt a great desire to help the suffering.

Freedom more than flour

On a day off from flying, Gail arranged to have a tour of the Berlin area. While snapping pictures and waiting for his jeep to arrive, he noticed a group of children standing at a fence watching the airplanes land and take off. Gail walked over to talk with the children, and they asked him many questions about the Airlift. What followed forever changed Gail’s life and many of the children’s lives as well. Gail remarked, “I received a lesson about priorities. They were interested in freedom more than flour. They fully recognized that between the two there was a real relationship, but they had already decided which was preeminent. I was astonished with the maturity and clarity that they exhibited in advising me of what their values were and what was of greatest importance to them in these circumstances. In the months between the aircraft over Berlin changed their cargo from bombs to flour, the children had witnessed an accelerated change in international relations. These young kids began giving me the most meaningful lesson in freedom I ever had. Here I was, an American, almost bald-headed at the age of twenty-seven, yet I was learning about something I took too much for granted.” (The Berlin Candy Bomber, p. 93)

As Gail walked away from the fence, he put his hand in his pocket where he found two sticks of Wrigley’s Doublemint gum. He thought the children at the fence probably had not had any chocolate or gum in two or three years. He debated returning to the fence with the gum knowing he may miss his ride into the city if he went back. He returned to the fence. That decision changed his life. He handed them his two sticks of gum and watched as the children divided the gum and shared it so as many children as possible could have a small piece. For the others, the children passed around the wrappers so everyone could smell the mint. Gail had an epiphany of how to help the children.

Uncle Wiggly Wings

Since there simply was not time on each flight to come to the fence with candy and gum, Gail told the children he would drop candy to them from his airplane the next day. How would they know it was him, the children asked? Gail said he would wiggle his plane’s wings. The children asked him to explain the word wiggle. Gail showed him with his arms.

After flying back that day, he quickly made three small parachutes from handkerchiefs and tied chocolate bars to the parachutes. Unfortunately, his first flight was in the dark, but on his second flight he saw the children at the fence. Gail wiggled his plane’s wings. The children recognized him instantly. Just at the right time, Gail had his co-pilot release the parachutes through a chute behind the pilot’s seat. After their delivery, they saw the three parachutes being waved by children at the fence. Thereafter the children began waving at every airplane coming and going. The children named Gail “Uncle Wiggly Wings.” They sent letters of thanks to the airport. A newspaper featured a story about the candy drop. Gail had not received permission to drop candy, however his superiors quickly embraced the cause due to the wonderful publicity. Word of the parachutes was flying around the world. In the United States, volunteers began making parachutes and candy companies donated many tons of candy and gum to be airlifted and dropped to the children.

Stop dreaming and start becoming

What a beautiful story of becoming by an obscure pilot who desired to help the suffering children after WWII. Many words come to mind related to my wife’s question about what holds us back from effectiveness. The words that can propel us forward are opportunity, ingenuity, action, and empathy.

As I further ponder my wife’s question and Gail’s story, together with the insight from Man’s Search for Meaning on self-transcendence, I reflected again on this excerpt.

“The more one forgets 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. What is called selfactualization is not an attainable aim at all, for the simple reason that the more one would strive for it, the more he would miss it. In other words, self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence.”

Our goal must be to transcend ourselves to become ourselves. How do we move from dreaming of self-transcendence to the realization of it?

Maybe it starts for you with a single word.

Questions to consider: Did you find a word in this story of becoming that inspired you? What will be your word for the year?

Becoming Your Best Self

As we ponder this new year, you may find yourself reflecting on your life and where you are going. What are your desires and goals for 2022? Are you progressing toward becoming your best self?

A few years ago, my wife and I traveled to Florence, Italy. During that time that I reflected much on Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” as my eyes were opened to new thoughts and ideas not yet discovered. But once found, we were eager to tell others all about it! 

We were enlightened and moved by the sculptures, art, music, and the Renaissance inspired by Florence. Linda pointed out that Florence, although small and relatively obscure, nevertheless served as a gathering place for artists who changed the world. It made me reflect on other gatherings of great philosophical minds in likewise small and unassuming places, including perhaps Philadelphia in 1776 and 1787. It seems when Providence wants to further the cause of truth, liberty, beauty, and goodness, he gathers his servants in fertile places like Athens, Jerusalem, Florence, and Philadelphia so that the windows of freedom to our souls can be opened.  

The theme of becoming one’s best self through “leaving the cave” seemed to be captured best by our visit to the museum Accademia, where the famed David sculpture by Michelangelo resides. To find it we walked through the gallery of slaves where partially completed works stand as sentinels to The David, the ideal man whom we all aspire to become. 

In the gallery, there are four tormented slaves still held captive in the marble from which they struggle to find their freedom. Each of these unfinished works are at various stages of mortal, mental or spiritual development as they move to a state of completeness, or perfection. As Michelangelo said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” 

The first is The Young Slave. He is early in his journey and seems burdened by a weary step with his left arm shielding his face. His back is unfinished with a burden that needs to be lifted.

The second is The Awakening Slave. The limbs and torso are strong which captures the difficult struggle to throw off burdens of the flesh or self-imposed limitations.

The third is The Bearded Slave, suggesting a man who is closer than the first two in finding freedom or special excellence he was meant to discover.

The fourth is Atlas. He carries a huge stone of weight on very wide and capable shoulders next to his head. The arms and shoulders are supporting his mental struggle, the same as which we all must grapple. Or perhaps as he struggles to exit his mortal limitations, he feels the weight of the future and the questions of eternity. 

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” 

-Michelangelo

What the hall means to me

As I pondered this room and scenes, I considered the mental, temporal, and emotional demons that I have been trying to throw off for years in my pursuit of excellence. The gallery of slaves represents the journey to becoming who I am meant to be. In the end, my complete and fully-developed self will be different from others because my gifts are unique to me. I do believe it takes immense and consistent struggle to achieve the result found in the chips and polish of the chisel and water. It is the work of a lifetime, and it is coming to recognize and then transcend our limitations.

The artists in Florence today

Linda and I spent another one of our days in Florence visiting artisans around the city. Some of these artists were doing unique things such as laying fine pieces of stone to make tables and framed scenes of Florence. Others were experts in the use of leather. Another man crafted handmade shoes. He carefully measured each person’s feet and then fit the shoes expertly to the individual. Every shoe was a work of art. As we engaged this young man in conversation, he lamented how many youths wanted to go into banking or computers, but they were not finding jobs and at the same time missing out on the chance to create something beautiful by craft or art. Everything in Florence is about artistry and allowing unique beauty to be found and frequently making beauty from ashes. The people here lament when seemingly “old things” are thrown away because of a lack of knowledge about the history of an item that once served others. Florence is a kindred city to an education in the liberal arts.

All these artists are moving forward the cause of liberty by freeing the mind, body, and soul of man. The most essential talent of a teacher is, as Socrates said, “to be a midwife to the minds of their disciples.” This suggests thoughtful and careful pursuit of truth. Each chip in the stone must be carefully considered before the act is done. This is how we come out of the stone fully formed as our best selves.

Questions to consider:

  • Have you encountered works of art that have had an impact on your thoughts or desires to be your best self?
  • Why is the struggle a necessary part of the process toward self-transcendence?
  • What conscious steps can you take in this new year toward coming out of the cave?

How to Make Sure It’s a Wonderful Life

One of my family’s Christmas traditions is watching movies about this wondrous season of the year. It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, and Elf are always good among the many choices. They remind us of our unique excellence and the value in learning to transcend ourselves and to bless others. They teach us how to find lasting happiness and joy. 

In It’s a Wonderful Life George Bailey appears to never get what he wants—whether it’s becoming a man of great education, finding acclaim, or amassing a fortune. He seems relegated to a simple life with a mundane job in an ordinary town. Yet, despite his supposed sense of dissatisfaction, he actively spends his whole life helping his community and putting others first. The movie portrays how George goes through the toughest of life’s problems and, ultimately, how he overcomes them.

What does it take to earn our wings?

One Christmas Eve as a financial error with outsized consequences adds to the weight of his life’s disappointments, George considers suicide.  An angel named Clarence who has yet to earn his “wings” comes from heaven and shows him how the world would have been if he hadn’t been born. George gets a first-hand look at the many important works he had done and how much worse the world would be without his deeds. Hanging in his office is a quote that expresses his life. “All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away.” Or another, “Remember no man is a failure who has friends.”

When George first meets Clarence, he sees what appears to be a man drowning. He instinctively dives in to save him and, in the course of the movie, is himself saved by Clarence. Captured well in one of the lines, “You tried to save me and then I saved you!” As we give ourselves away for others, we find ourselves. Clarence continues, “Strange, isn’t It? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

No man is a failure who has friends

In the end Geoge’s friends pull together to supply the money needed to avoid the alleged scandal and bankruptcy of his Savings and Loan Bank. Clarence earns his guardian angel wings for his noble actions with George. Recalling again the truth that “No man is a failure who has friends.” 

One of the central truths in this movie is the concept of self-transcendence. This is what we have been exploring all of December, and this is the core of it: We find meaning and purpose in using our virtues, talents, and gifts to bless others.

I hope you have been able to enjoy the holiday season with greater insight into self and your future. Dr. Viktor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning reminds us of that when he noted, “The prisoner who had lost faith in the future—his future—was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future, he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and became subject to mental and physical decay.” 

As we look forward to the new year, what is it you look forward to? What is life yet expecting of you?  

Silent Night and Our Day

It is always a joy to hear, and recount, stories of triumph. It is no coincidence or miracle that the poem “Silent Night” by Joseph Mohr was destined to fill the homes and hearts of people on that holy Christmas Eve of 1818. 

Joseph Mohr born in 1792 had natural music abilities. He held a strong connection to the poor due to his modest upbringing. He was an orphan and was asked to become a priest at age 19 when the suggested age at that time was 25. Joseph was young and idealistic, but also humble, and he had a great desire to follow the Lord and the whisperings of the spirit of God. He was quick to follow his natural tendencies to help the poverty-stricken and unchurched in Oberndorf. Joseph was a servant full of hope, enough hope even for a poor village that could feel burdened by their impoverished circumstances. The young priest wrote his hope into six verses in 1816. 

A musical partnership is formed

In that same year, Franz Gruber became the organist in the Parrish at Oberndorf. Together, Joseph and Franz composed the lullaby that became “Silent Night,” and on Christmas Eve 1818 they performed the song for the first time by simple guitar. Joseph said, “The two of us did something for the Holy Night. I transcribed the words, and Franz Gruber the melody. Neither knew of its significance.” Now translated into 300 languages it is sung all over the world. The hymn is synonymous with the human/Christian message of peace. The Austrians sing it only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. 

We often sing only three verses, but here are all six verses of the translation from German. They are all extraordinarily beautiful. 

Silent Night! Holy Night!

By John Freeman Young (verses 1-3), ca. 1859
Silent Night! Holy Night!

1. Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child!
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!

2. Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight!
Glories stream from Heaven afar,
Heavenly Hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!

3. Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy Holy Face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy Birth!
Jesus, Lord, at Thy Birth!

4. Silent Night, Holy Night
Here at last, healing light
From the heavenly kingdom sent,
Abundant grace for our intent.
Jesus, salvation for all.
Jesus, salvation for all.

5. Silent Night! Holy Night"
Sleeps the world in peace tonight.
God sends his Son to earth below
A Child from whom all blessings flow
Jesus, embraces mankind.
Jesus, embraces mankind.

6. Silent Night, Holy Night
Mindful of mankind's plight
The Lord in Heav'n on high decreed
From earthly woes we would be freed
Jesus, God's promise for peace.
Jesus, God's promise for peace.

This lullaby expresses so well our collective hopes and aspirations of peace, comfort and redemption offered to us during the season of Christmas if we are willing to choose Christ over other less important things.

Have we remained mindful?

There are many today who are trying to silence those of faith as we steadfastly hold to our belief in Jesus Christ and His Messianic message of hope. It is especially troubling to see many of the rising generation who are losing their way. We have a rising generation that in some respects is the spiritually strongest ever, yet seem short-sighted. Some have “become for themselves” and are leaving the table of heritage and feast of the Lord for a mess of pottage. 

Just as the God of Joseph’s lyrics is “mindful of man’s plight,” we can turn our hearts and sights outward and remember that His grace truly is “salvation for all.” 

I testify that it is faith in Jesus Christ and His Light to the world that we can find refuge and salvation. Jesus is our healing Light to cure our plight.

I invite you to watch this beautiful production of the story of Joseph and Franz and their beautiful work “Silent Night” this Christmas with your family and loved ones. 

BYUtv’s feature-length telling of the story of “Silent Night” can viewed here.

At This Moment: When Greed Guides Science, Are Our Liberties at Stake?

Hillsdale College recently established an Academy for Freedom and Science “to educate the American people about the free exchange of scientific ideas and the proper relationship between freedom and science in the pursuit of truth.” The Academy will be led by national and international scholars and “will be a platform for free, reasoned, and civil discourse in scientific research and issues of public health and provide educational opportunities for citizens in general.”

Today I’d like to direct you to an important leadership panel that was held for the Academy’s launch. These three preeminent doctors, Scott. W. Atlas, Martin Kulldorff, and Jay Bhattacharya, speak to what the science during the pandemic has uncovered and then to where the money leads. It is not necessarily the same place.

It is a sobering thing to see our freedoms erode based on misleading, false, or suppressed information. As Dr. Arnn points out. “Each understood from the pandemic’s beginning that the infringements of freedom prescribed were contrary to the scientific evidence, and ultimately worse than the disease itself.”

Listen in, and become better informed.

Find the panel’s discussion here and come back to let us know your thoughts.

Worry less about the meaning of life, and more about the meaning in your life

How do we find hope, healing, and purpose in the very tortured and anxious times in which we live?

If you ask Viktor Frankl, he might say “future goals.”

When working with patients attempting to process and move past traumatic events in their lives, Dr. Frankl found it was essential “to give them a why—an aim—for their lives, in order to strengthen them to bear the terrible how of their existence. [Because as] Nietzsche said, ‘He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.’” (Man’s Search for Meaning, p. 84)

This therapeutic approach developed by Dr. Frankl became known as Logotherapy.  Logos from the Greek root signifying “meaning”. Frankl said, “There is nothing in the world, I venture to say, that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions, as the knowledge that there is a meaning in his life.” (p. 108)

LOGOTHERAPY v. PSYCHOTHERAPY

How does Logotherapy differ from other psychoanalytic theories?

In his book Logotherapy in a Nutshell,  Frankl explains, “During psychoanalysis, the patient must lie down on a couch and tell you things which sometimes are very disagreeable to tell.” To which Frankl replied: “Now, in logotherapy the patient may remain sitting erect but he must hear things which sometimes are very disagreeable to hear.”

What is so disagreeable to hear? 

  • While psychoanalysis is more retrospective and introspective and can become an exhaustive look at the past, logotherapy is prospective and focused on our futures. 
  • Logotherapy requires the patient to earnestly ask themself what they are personally responsible for in their current situations.
  • Logotherapy asks patients to recognize that they have control over and are responsible for their own attitudes and actions over their lives, regardless of what has already happened.

Dr. Frankl was not devoid of empathy for the challenge of healing from past trauma. He himself was a survivor of multiple concentration camps among which he lost his parents, brother, and eventually his wife. But it was that very experience that helped to bring Frankl to the knowledge that “what was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.” (p. 85)

WHAT IS WANTED OF ME?

When I read this, I had the strongest epiphany of thought that changed my thinking from “What do I want from life?” to “What from this life is wanted of me?” 

I considered my many personal endeavors: a marriage to develop, children to mentor, a business to build, a school to found, among others. These endeavors each had inherent challenges and they all required personal sacrifice. But I have been blessed because they have not only fed me yesterday but are still providing future feasts for me in creating a heritage or legacy of family, faith, and freedom into the future. The nourishment has been brought to me because they have all brought meaning to my life.

But even in the midst of blessings, life can be a costly personal endeavor. As Frankl also points out, “Dostoevski said once, ‘There is only one thing I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings.’ These words frequently came to my mind after I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom—which cannot be taken away—that makes life meaningful and purposeful.” (p. 75)

I love those words! They reflect much on last week’s post of finding dignity, purpose, and freedom in death of a loved one or personal suffering. Logotherapy helps solve the tension between who we are and who we may be or become as we look to the future. 

WHAT IS LIFE STILL EXPECTING OF YOU?

So, how do you do this? What is life still expecting of you? What do you look forward to? It is captured in the idea that we are always becoming. Human excellence is always on display. Our best years are yet to come. 

According to logotherapy, we can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: 

(1) by creating a work or doing a deed

(2) by experiencing something or encountering someone

(3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering 

December is the month for these healing suggestions. 

I invite you to reflect and act. Dr. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is a book that will change you and your life forever, and possibly that of a family member who may desperately need hope in their future during the time of Christmas and the New Year.  

Finding Dignity in Self-Transcendence

I recently visited a friend whom I originally met in Brazil 41 years ago. I was a Christian missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time that we met.  Over the years, he and his family have become extended family to me. As a young man, my friend became known as “Mr. Universe,” as he had won this title as a body builder in Brazil. I knew him more for his kind character, beautiful countenance, and his musical talent playing the guitar.

As he is now in hospice care, many would pity him and his condition. And though it was a somber atmosphere and sobering visit, I found it beautiful to see all his family gathering around him here near the end of his life. We played the guitar, sang, prayed, and cried together. It reminded me of the passing of great patriarchs in the Bible being “gathered to his people.” Family members were sharing love and stories of their lives together. All were helping with his needs in some way. 

As I sat among his loved ones, I observed something that I read in Man’s Search for Meaning by Dr. Viktor Frankl.

“In the past, nothing is irretrievably lost, but rather, on the contrary, everything is irrevocably stored and treasured. To be sure, people tend to see only the stubble fields of transitoriness but overlook and forget the full granaries of the past into which they have brought the harvest of their lives: the deeds done, the loves loved, and last but not least, the sufferings they have gone through with courage and dignity.

From this one may see that there is no reason to pity old people. Instead, young people should envy them. It is true that the old have no opportunities, no possibilities in the future. But they have more than that. Instead of possibilities in the future, they have realities in the past – the potentialities they have actualized, the meanings they have fulfilled, the values they have realized – and nothing and nobody can ever remove these assets from the past…” (142-143)

At times of impending loss, it might be easy to feel discouraged or to lose hope and fulfillment. I recall my own father passing just prior to Christmas. It was difficult to watch him leave us. We read Psalm 136 which emphasizes God’s mercy. How merciful it was that my sons and I could be there with him along with his wife and other family. I reflected again on the meaning one can find even at times like these shared by Dr. Frankl. 

“Then I spoke of the many opportunities of giving life a meaning. I told my comrades (who lay motionless, although occasionally a sigh could be heard) that human life, under any circumstances, never ceases to have a meaning, and that this infinite meaning of life includes suffering and dying, privation and death. I asked the poor creatures who listened to me attentively in the darkness of the hut to face up to the seriousness of our position. They must not lose hope but should keep their courage in the certainty that the hopelessness of our struggle did not detract from its dignity and its meaning. I said that someone looks down on each of us in difficult hours — a friend, a wife, somebody alive or dead, or a God — and  he would not expect us to disappoint him. He would hope to fund us suffering proudly — not miserably — knowing how to die.”

(83)

There is a dignity to living and to dying. My mother recently told me something my grandfather used to say. “Every man deserves his own dignity.” How can one find dignity or purpose in dying especially without being able to choose how we exit this existence? Again, I found a story related by Dr. Frankl as he contemplated an early escape from prison with a friend which would mean abandoning those he was treating and serving while there. He writes,  

“I ran back to my hut to collect all my possessions: my food bowl, a pair of torn mittens inherited from a dead typhus patient, and a few scraps of paper covered with shorthand notes (on which, as I mentioned before, I had started to reconstruct the manuscript which I lost at Auschwitz). I made a quick last round of my patients, who were lying huddled on the rotten planks of wood on either side of the huts. I came to my only countryman, who was almost dying, and whose life it had been my ambition to save in spite of his condition. I had to keep my Intention to escape to myself, but my comrade seemed to guess that something was wrong (perhaps I showed a little nervousness). In a tired voice he asked me, ‘You, too, are getting out?’ I denied it, but I found it difficult to avoid his sad look. After my round I returned to him. Again a hopeless look greeted me and somehow I felt it to be an accusation. The unpleasant feeling that had gripped me as soon as I had told my friend I would escape with him became more intense. Suddenly I decided to take fate into my own hands for once. I ran out of the hut and told my friend that I could not go with him. As soon as I had told him with finality that I had made up my mind to stay with my patients, the unhappy feeling left me. I did not know what the following days would bring, but I had gained an inward peace that I had never experienced before.”

(58-59)

What a beautiful epiphany. 

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”  

(66)

Dignity, if you will, is an attitude about how we face all life’s challenges. That attitude is completely ours and can never be taken from us. 

At This Moment: The Value of American Citizenship

The courses taught through Hillsdale College Online are superb. I recently completed one entitled American Citizenship and Its Decline. The course is free and tackles timely issues that should be at the forefront of all conscientious American minds.

I firmly believe the rights of Americans are under attack by a series of challenges that threaten to transform our society and undermine our freedom and independence. It is urgent for all liberty-loving Americans to join together and educate themselves on the nature of these threats.

Come back and let us know what you think about the issues facing our communities and country at this unique time in history.