Everything can be taken away from man but one thing--to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
In the camps Frankl said he saw many succumb who had the opportunity to survive because they lacked will, and they lacked will because they lacked hope.
Being human is being responsible.
The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity--even under the most difficult circumstances--to add a deeper meaning to his life. He may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation, he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.
In a way I pity these younger people who did not know the camps or live during the war, who have nothing like that to compare (their own hardships) with...Even today, as I lose my sight or with any sever problem or adverse situation. I have only to think for a fraction of a second and I draw a deep breath. What I would have given then if I could have had no greater problem than I face today.
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 one's life.
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