The enigma of human suffering. Part and parcel of life. Inevitable.
Where has it originated? From the biblical “man’s fall” (Adam and Eve’s commission of original sin)? Whence all natural, moral, or what not, evils thus sprung forth?
Verily, however we abhor it – or be it caused by our own making, by others, due to natural circumstances, or by sheer “misfortune” or “fate” – suffering is not completely devoid of meaning. It is not without reason or purpose.
Here are two schools of thought that accord the meaningfulness of suffering – one is from an existentialist philosopher, the other from a renowned war-time psychiatrist.
First is Friedrich Nietzsche, a German existentialist philosopher, whose life has been plagued with health problems, and who posited that humans suffer for a reason. If life has to be meaningful, this meaning can only be derived from suffering: “Man, the bravest of animals and the one most accustomed to suffering, does not repudiate suffering as such; he desires it, he even seeks it out, provided he is shown a meaning for it, a purpose of suffering.”
What is the ultimate value or meaning of suffering? For Nietzsche, suffering can propel man to achieve “greatness,” to become a “higher man” or “superman” (Ubermensch) – an ideal and powerful being, one who has overcome all his inner fears, weaknesses, and deficiencies, and thus who soars above all others.
From Nietzschean perspective, hence, we can try to understand or deduce the meaningfulness or indicators of “good things” out of our suffering and struggles, and thus attain our “greatness,” albeit warts and all.
Then, we have Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, who founded logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy that describes a search for a life’s meaning as the central human motivational force.
Frankl, who spent three years witnessing the horrible atrocities at the concentration camps (where his mother and brother were murdered in gas chambers) of Auschwitz and Dachau, wrote: “Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see meaning in his life.”
In his all-time bestseller “Man’s Search for Meaning,” there’s an iconic scene where Frankl is engaged in hard labor by a railroad. Thick snow is pounding the prisoners who are already under-clothed, malnourished and utterly exhausted. Hours and hours go by, as Nazi officers beat several prisoners for working too slowly, including Frankl.
In such moment of extreme suffering, Frankl begins to daydream about his wife. It wasn’t the major moments in their relationship he thought of. It was the little things: her smile, the way her hair fell to her shoulders, her laugh. All of those traits, while they were appreciated and admired in those moments, provided Frankl with the will to continue living despite his desolation.
Now, in our times of suffering, of difficulties, of uncertainty, we are sometimes engrossed on stressing what we don’t have or what we have lost, rather than what we still have.
Perhaps so, like Frankl who found positive meaning from “little things” in his incarceration, we can draw out snippets of inspiration or meaning in our difficult moments: being grateful for our health, for spending time with our family, for embracing each day as a gift, and by counting more of our great “little things” or blessings.