Anne Frank saw the good in people while hiding from the Nazis. Victor Frankl remained positive while in a Concentration Camp. Helen Keller was a role model, while not being able to see, hear or speak. I would be more self absorbed than I appear to be if I could not make something positive out of PD.
THE GOOD: A short time after being diagnosed, I discovered writing. As I've previously stated, I've always had a vivid imagination. I lived in my own version of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." Walter Mitty was a character created by James Thurber in 1939, who lived in his own vivid fantasy world. I started to write these stories, and although they are yet to be published, I'm enjoying writing the stories.
THE BAD: Most of the bad is too obvious to mention. The worst is not knowing. I've been successful in blocking my imagination from seeing the worst. So far, the natural progression and a positive attitude have kept me from experiencing too much of the Bad.
THE UGLY: We all have our egos. Although I was never a Brad Pitt, I wasn't unattractive. Now I show the tell tale signs of PD. Scaling on my face and a masked look. The scaling has dissipated, because i switched to an electric razor, but it is still slightly there.
So for now I'll enjoy the good, live with the bad and manage the ugly. There are no choices.
Showing posts with label Victor Frankl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Victor Frankl. Show all posts
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
December 21, 2010. Man's Search for Meaning
"Everything can be taken from a man but ...the last of the human freedoms - to choose
one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Victor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning.
Victor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. His best-selling book, Man's Search for Meaning (published under a different title in 1959: From Death-Camp to Existentialism, and originally published in 1946 as trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen: Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager), chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describes his psychotherapeutic method of finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most sordid ones, and thus a reason to continue living. (Wikipedia)
It isn't the type of book that I ordinarily read. After all it isn't about Baseball, nor written by Philip Roth, but about three years ago a friend recommended it to me. Victor Frankl was an amazing man. His attitude and will to live kept him alive while in a Nazi Concentration camp.
The book, as much as anything else, caused a change in my attitude regarding PD. You might say that I had a catharsis. Frankl survived the Holocaust and lived to write about his experiences. Frankl lost his wife and Parents to the Nazis, yet his attitude favoring living never faltered.
There I was, ignoring my business, not appreciating my wife and being an all around bore.
This wonderful man, who had been dead for 10 years, reached me as I'm sure he had reached many during his lifetime,
He taught me that I was still alive, that I was still vital and that there was plenty to feel good about, He gave me back my sense of humor.
So I have a neurological disease. From time to time I might be uncomfortable. But feeling sorry for myself doesn't help. It makes every day a drudgery. It makes people not want to be with you. If Victor Frankl can find reason to carry on in a Concentration camp, I can find it with a tremor.
one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Victor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning.
Victor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. His best-selling book, Man's Search for Meaning (published under a different title in 1959: From Death-Camp to Existentialism, and originally published in 1946 as trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen: Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager), chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describes his psychotherapeutic method of finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most sordid ones, and thus a reason to continue living. (Wikipedia)
It isn't the type of book that I ordinarily read. After all it isn't about Baseball, nor written by Philip Roth, but about three years ago a friend recommended it to me. Victor Frankl was an amazing man. His attitude and will to live kept him alive while in a Nazi Concentration camp.
The book, as much as anything else, caused a change in my attitude regarding PD. You might say that I had a catharsis. Frankl survived the Holocaust and lived to write about his experiences. Frankl lost his wife and Parents to the Nazis, yet his attitude favoring living never faltered.
There I was, ignoring my business, not appreciating my wife and being an all around bore.
This wonderful man, who had been dead for 10 years, reached me as I'm sure he had reached many during his lifetime,
He taught me that I was still alive, that I was still vital and that there was plenty to feel good about, He gave me back my sense of humor.
So I have a neurological disease. From time to time I might be uncomfortable. But feeling sorry for myself doesn't help. It makes every day a drudgery. It makes people not want to be with you. If Victor Frankl can find reason to carry on in a Concentration camp, I can find it with a tremor.
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