thinking

Thinking Out Loud ~ Living a Life Without Regrets

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Victor Frankl says in Man’s Search for Meaning, in speaking of responsibility, “Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now. . . . Such a precept confronts him with life’s finiteness, as well as the finality of what he makes out of both his life and himself.” P. 112

NOTE: I’ve met many people who live with regrets wishing they had done things differently. An old Texas rancher told me, “Ray, wish in one hand and poop in (he other (he didn’t use the word poop, but you get his meaning) and see what you get first.” When we live in the moment, we have the opportunity to, as Frankl says, act as if we were living a second time and as if the first time we acted as wrongly as we are about to act now. By following Frankl’s advice we will live a life without regrets.

Thinking Out Loud ~ An Important Question

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Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is both an autobiography of his time in the prison camps and a presentation of logotherapy or as Frankl says, the will to meaning. Referring to logotherapy, Frankl says, “As each situation in life represents a challenge to man and presents a problem for him to solve. The question of the meaning of life may be actually reversed. Ultimately man should not ask what the meaning of his life is but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible. Thus, logotherapy sees in responsibleness the very essence of human existence. Pps. 113-114

NOTE: Frankl presents a question that challenges us at each moment of our existence: “What is life asking of me at this moment?” Since we have free will we can choose to ignore the question, answer the question is a self-centered way, or to embrace the question and choose to be responsible to the unique circumstances we find ourselves in. It’s not always easy, it can be fraught with suffering and pain, yet it is our path toward meaning and living a fulfilled life.

Thinking Out Loud ~ A Moment of Grace

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Victor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning describes incident shortly after his concentration camp was liberated. Although still living in the concentration camp, the prisoners were free to go wherever they wanted to go. Frankl found himself walking alone through the countryside. This is how he describes it. “I walked through the country past flowering meadows, for miles and miles toward the market town near the camp. Larks rose in the sky, and I could hear their joyous song. There was no one to be seen for miles around. There was nothing but the wide earth and sky in the lark’s jubilation, and the freedom of space. I stopped, looked around, and up to the sky; and then I went down on my knees. At that moment there was very little I knew of myself and of the world. I had, but one sentence in mind, always the same: I called to the Lord from my narrow prison, and He answered me in the freedom of space.”

Note: Have you ever had a spiritual experience similar to Frankl’s spontaneous experience of joy and gratitude? I have. When they’ve occurred to me, I have felt overwhelmed with the presence of God and felt the overwhelming desire to remain in that space forever. One cannot predict if and when they will occur, I call it a moment of grace.

Today’s Positive Thought ~ What Are You Thinking About?

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“The strangest secret in the world is that you become what you think about (Earl Nightingale).” 

Lots of times thoughts just pop in my head. Other times, I can think about a problem and not let it go until I have figured out how to resolve it.  These are things that are normal. Between these two types of thinking there is a lot of space to think about things. If I’m thinking about how to accomplish my dreams, about how I can become a better a better person, or how I can contribute to my church and community, my mind is in a good space. If I let my mind ruminate on negative past experiences or regrets, situations that make me angry, or ways to get even, I’m wallowing in the mud. Better to soar among the stars and let our minds play with thoughts that elevate us.

Today’s Good Word ~ Thinking

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I’ve heard the phrase, “What were you thinking?” We’ve heard phrases such as these from parents, teachers, and others. I’ve asked myself a similar question, “What was I thinking?” Thinking implies we have some forethought on the consequences of our actions. Another way of looking at the word thinking, is to see it in relationship to real events that immediately impact us. Here’s a simple example. Let’s say you decide to replace the roll of toilet paper and put it on the roller with the paper falling out the back side. Your partner discovers  this a bit later and confronts you, “Why did you put the toilet paper on backwards, you know I like it falling off the front.” If you’re reacting, you may say, “What difference does it matter?” If you’re using forethought (thinking), you may say, “I forgot. Can you explain to me again, why you like it that way?” Thinking before reacting stops many a problem before it takes root.

Today’s Inspiration ~ Is It Time to Change?

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“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

~  Albert Einstein

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