Frankl's 3 possible ways to find meaning in life

 

As early as 1929 I had developed the concept of three groups of values, or three possible ways to find meaning in life - even up to the last moment, the last breath. The three possibilities are

1) A deed we do, a work we create

2) An experience, a human encounter, a love

3) When confrontonted with an unchangeable fate (such as an incurable disease), a change of attitude toward that fate. In shich cases we can still wrest meaning from life by giving testimony to the most human of all human capacities: the ability to turn suffering into human triumph.

 

VIKTOR FRANKL Recollections, page 64.

Between stimulus and response, there is a space (Unknown)

Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and happiness.

 

UNKNOWN - quoted by Stephen.  R. Covey in "The  7 Habits of  Highly Effective People." Often misattributed to Viktor Frankl.

Choices not abilities - Albus Dumbledore

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"

 

J.K. ROWLING The Chamber of Secrets, 333

Nothing is mightier than wisdom (Socrates)

Nothing is mightier than wisdom

SOCRATES

 

Happiness through Compassion (Dalia Lama)

 

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

THE DALIA LAMA

 

For a good brief guide on  how to practice,compassion, see zenhabits

The whole world of friendship (Herman Hesse)

When the ways of friends converge, the whole world looks like home for an hour

HERMAN HESSE

 

Quoted in Mark Vernon's The Philosophy of Friendship.

 

Mark Vernon's book is a recent, intelligent and accessible exploration of friendship, taking its cue from Aristotle's distinction between three kinds of friendships - those based on utility, friendship and a genuine admiration and caring for each other. Mark Vernon also has a podcast on Aristotle's theory of friendship

 

Technorati tags: Herman Hesse, Friendship

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Anger and the mean (Aristotle)

Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the
right purpose and in the right way - that is not easy.

ARISTOTLE , The Nicomachean Ethics


This quotation is given at the start of Dan Goleman's Emotional Intelligence.
It seems to me that what Aristotle is talking about would be described better as "emotional wisdom"

An example of using anger wisely is Betty Williams, one of the Irish Peace Women in the 1970s.
Her anger at seeing at first hand the death of 3 children in the Irish violence was channelled into co-founding the Community for Peace People
Williams and co-founder Mairead Corrigan were awared the Nobel Peace Price in 1977.

How to reach the palace of Reason (R.S. Peters)

The palace of reason is entered through the courtyard of habit.

R.S. PETERS Ethics and Education (1966, 314)


Article on Aristotle and Weakness of will by David Carr

The true value of time (Lord Chesterfield)

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness; no laziness; no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

Lord Chesterfield was Philip Stanhope.
His Letters to his son can be viewed online.
A short summary is contained here

Memento mori is an art form designed to remind us that we are mortal.
Vanitas by Harmen Steenwijck (c. 1640) is one of many examples - skulls, candles annd timepieces being typical contents of such still life pictures.