//Remembering What is Worth Remembering//
None of us can get through life without making serious mistakes. Most of the time we do our best to do what we think is right in an imperfect world, using the scattered pieces of information available to us, trying our hardest to make choices we think will lead to a better future--a future that is always totally unknown and unpredictable. On top of this less than ideal environment for even knowing and understanding what the right decisions to make are, our countless imperfections, our engrained impulses, our baser instincts, our unintentional short-sightedness, and the constant struggle we have within ourselves, often lead us astray. Inherently, "to error is human," and, in fact, all life in existence struggles to the make the best of things in a chaotic world and necessarily makes mistakes along the way. What is more important than the mistakes themselves is that all that can be learned from them, is, and that newfound knowledge is proactively applied to do better in the future.
Nevertheless, we cannot ignore, nor excuse the impact of, those mistakes we make that are excruciatingly painful to others and ourselves, made in our darkest hours, when it seemed there was no light to guide us as our own light had faded in the darkness of the pain and the fear. Though, were we, and those we've loved but deeply hurt, not victims of our own blind humanity in the times we were truly lost? Must we judge the character and value of a person's entire life based solely on their worst errors?
Can we accept that we all share, among a great many other things, the common experience of inducing pain and sorrow we never wanted for ourselves or our loved ones? Can we all agree 'we are not magnificent'--that with all our natural flaws, whether they include in any particular person a mental disorder, disability, or malady, or none at all, we do our best to find a sense of happiness and safety, even if we are looking in all the wrong places? Is it not true that we all abhor living in fear, being controlled by sadness, bitterness, and regret, and that we quite often do things that seem to make us feel better in the moment but leave us just as empty as before? Is it not clear the 'human condition' is an inherent paradox, and to be human is to be a walking, talking paradox of mixed emotions and mental conflict, having only a dim perception of the real world whilst possessing dangerously limitless but immature imagination?
We all want to be loved and remembered fondly, despite the very serious, yet very human blunders we've made. I, for one, believe our best qualities and greatest achievements are the only things of value worth remembering once we are dead and gone...
//"We're Living at the Mercy of the Pain and the Fear Until We Dead It, Forget It, Let It All Disappear"//
"Yeah, yo
This is not the end, this is not the beginning
Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision
But you listen to the tone and the violent rhythm
And though the words sound steady, something empty's within 'em
We say 'Yeah', with fists flying up in the air
Like we're holding onto something that's invisible there
'Cause we're living at the mercy of the pain and the fear
Until we dead it, forget it, let it all disappear (yeah)
Waiting for the end to come, wishing I had strength to stand
This is not what I had planned, it's out of my control
Flying at the speed of light, thoughts were spinning in my head
So many things were left unsaid, it's hard to let you go
I know what it takes to move on, I know how it feels to lie
All I wanna do is trade this life for something new
Holding on to what I haven't got
Sitting in an empty room, trying to forget the past
This was never meant to last, I wish it wasn't so
I know what it takes to move on, I know how it feels to lie
All I wanna do is trade this life for something new
Holding on to what I haven't got
Yo, yeah
What was left when that fire was gone?
I thought it felt right but that right was wrong
All caught up in the eye of the storm
I'm trying to figure out what it's like moving on
And I don't even know what kind of things I said
My mouth kept moving and my mind went dead
So, picking up the pieces now, where to begin?
The hardest part of ending is starting again!
All I wanna do is trade this life for something new
Holding on to what I haven't got
This is not the end, this is not the beginning
Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision
(I'm holding on to what I haven't got)
But you listen to the tone and the violet rhythm
Though the words sound steady, something empty's within 'em
We say 'Yeah', with fists flying up in the air
Like we're holding onto something that's invisible there
(Holding on to what I haven't got)
'Cause we're living at the mercy of the pain and the fear
Until we dead it, forget it, let it all disappear"
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
March 8, 2016
January 15, 2016
An Inquiry into the Fundamental Nature of Existence (Reality)
[Although all of the concepts and unifying "Theory of Everything" framework for them have been fully formed, getting it on paper is an ongoing work in progress. I will be regularly updating this post as the book continues to come together. Enjoy, and please comment!]
>>http://bit.ly/1H8ill1<<
Last Updated: 20150629-00:39GMT
>>http://bit.ly/1H8ill1<<
Last Updated: 20150629-00:39GMT
May 26, 2015
"The Square Root of Three" by David Feinberg
I’m sure that I will always be,
A lonely number like root three
The three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath the vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine
I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality
Hark! What is this I see,
Another square root of three
Has quietly come waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer
We break free from our mortal bonds,
With the wave of magic wands
Our square root signs become unglued,
Your love for me has been renewed
A lonely number like root three
The three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath the vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine
For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic
with just some quick arithmetic
I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality
Hark! What is this I see,
Another square root of three
Has quietly come waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer
We break free from our mortal bonds,
With the wave of magic wands
Our square root signs become unglued,
Your love for me has been renewed
January 11, 2015
Feed the Hungry
Brothers and Sisters,
I am writing today to ask you to help me make a difference in the lives of the millions of Americans who have trouble making ends meet. I'm hoping you will help me by donating to my personal fundraising campaign to help fight hunger.
Did you know that one out of every six Americans struggles with hunger? This is a problem people of all ages and backgrounds face across the country. Hardworking people struggle to put food on the table for their families, and the government programs designed to help these individuals cannot close the gap.
I believe that the primary thing standing in the way of ending hunger right now is people's inclination to be apathetic towards issues they'd rather not think about. Even those who think about and talk about such problems as ending childhood hunger rarely take direct action to actually help address the problem.
In the words of the current Dalai Lama, "To meet the challenges of this century, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility." This universal responsibility we all share for our collective welfare requires ACTION on the part of each person, not just talk, and especially not ignoring that a particular problem exists. There is no excuse for 1 in 5 children in America to face hunger on a regular basis. We each have a social and moral obligation to ACT to resolve this unacceptable situation. Supporting this food drive is an action on your part that will have a direct impact on reducing hunger in America, the last place on Earth that should have such a problem in the first place.
That is why I've created a Virtual Food Drive for Feeding America. I'm trying to raise $100 to help Feeding America provide nutritious and much-needed food to families battling hunger. I have already donated $10 to the fundraiser. Every dollar I raise in my Virtual Food Drive will help provide 10 meals to hungry families.
Please donate to my Virtual Food Drive today and, just as importantly, spread the word about it!
http://help.feedingamerica.org/goto/wisefromwithin
Your Hungry Brothers and Sisters Thank You for Your Support,
Matthew L. Morgan
"wisefromwithin"
I am writing today to ask you to help me make a difference in the lives of the millions of Americans who have trouble making ends meet. I'm hoping you will help me by donating to my personal fundraising campaign to help fight hunger.
Did you know that one out of every six Americans struggles with hunger? This is a problem people of all ages and backgrounds face across the country. Hardworking people struggle to put food on the table for their families, and the government programs designed to help these individuals cannot close the gap.
I believe that the primary thing standing in the way of ending hunger right now is people's inclination to be apathetic towards issues they'd rather not think about. Even those who think about and talk about such problems as ending childhood hunger rarely take direct action to actually help address the problem.
In the words of the current Dalai Lama, "To meet the challenges of this century, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility." This universal responsibility we all share for our collective welfare requires ACTION on the part of each person, not just talk, and especially not ignoring that a particular problem exists. There is no excuse for 1 in 5 children in America to face hunger on a regular basis. We each have a social and moral obligation to ACT to resolve this unacceptable situation. Supporting this food drive is an action on your part that will have a direct impact on reducing hunger in America, the last place on Earth that should have such a problem in the first place.
That is why I've created a Virtual Food Drive for Feeding America. I'm trying to raise $100 to help Feeding America provide nutritious and much-needed food to families battling hunger. I have already donated $10 to the fundraiser. Every dollar I raise in my Virtual Food Drive will help provide 10 meals to hungry families.
Please donate to my Virtual Food Drive today and, just as importantly, spread the word about it!
http://help.feedingamerica.org/goto/wisefromwithin
Your Hungry Brothers and Sisters Thank You for Your Support,
Matthew L. Morgan
"wisefromwithin"
January 4, 2015
Press Release & Background Info. on My Album
First: a mass, global press release for my music album and my record label has been published to over 500+ media and industry outlets, as well as the blogger-sphere and social media which you can check out here!
Second:
[Transcript from my Kickstarter project video presentation.]
"Hello Everyone!
My name is Matthew Morgan, though I usually go by Matt, and I am a 30 year old partially-disabled army combat veteran who is currently nearing completion of my college degree. There is a major abundance of detailed information about me on my Kickstarter project page (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wisefromwithin/wise-trip-eptm-album-completion) and especially my blog pages, so I won't bother covering all of that here....
On the internet and when referred to as a music producer I go by the alias "WiseFromWithin." This alias is simply a reminder to myself and others that true wisdom concerning anything (even right down to the very nature of existence itself) must be rooted and developed forth, first, from a genuine and deep understanding of 'thyself.'
I am seeking your support in investing in the completion of what is my debut album as a music producer, called Wise 'Trip' EP, which is currently in the "demo" stage. There is plenty of detail about my project on the project's pages, including where to go to listen to all of the songs, but I'll give you some background information on the concepts and meaning behind the album itself and a couple of the songs--information that you will not find anywhere else.
Both in the album's title and the 1st track's title, Destiny 'Trip,' the word "trip" has a double meaning, which is why it is in single quotes. It both means a trip, as in a journey, and also a "trip," as in a mental high that the music is intended to induce in the listener. The album concept is to explore the different, important aspects of human life through the use of music that serves as accurate metaphors for conveying those ideas in a way that is more emotionally engaging, more intuitively understandable, and more enveloping of consciousness for the listener, than could be achieved through words.
Destiny 'Trip' is a song that does not follow a standard musical song structure, as most of the songs on the album do not. Destiny 'Trip' is structured musically to be a metaphor for the human lifespan, with each of its stages represented in the proper, relative proportions. It begins with early childhood (which is the piano intro). It suddenly builds up, transitioning with a crescendo into the song section representing the phase of later childhood and adolescence.
The point in the song where there is only a duet of intertwining countermelodies, represents the transition in a person's life between adolescence and adulthood--a time when they retain their excitement for life, but, as a person, feel considerable uncertainty about who they are, what direction their life should head in, and also is the time when the person often feels alone in terms of not being able to understand their destiny through what advice others have to offer them--only they, them self, can figure all of that out use their intellectual conflict plays itself out (represented by the two countermelodies). When the rest of the music reenters, the person is a young adult, still filled with a sense of discovery and excitement about the world around them and how they are just beginning to understand how they fit in to it all.
When the song reaches the point where it modulates to a new key, speeds up, and is beginning to fill with even more energy--this represents the stage in a person's life when, who they are as a person, is stabilizing and settling into an identity the person at least partially understands. At the same time, the person finally has some degree of grasp on what meaning and purpose they want their life to have--in other words, what their destiny is; and they move forward with the next phase of their life that roughly spans between their late 20's and late 50's (the phase in one's life that begins musically at the point in the song when the "bridge" transition ends with the energetic drums entering and landing in the next section of the song).
At this point in a person's life, they are fairly confident in themselves and what they want out of life, and they also are applying--through their actions, not just their words--the values and ideals they identify with in most everything they do. The heightened energy and slight swagger of the music in this section intends to represent these ideas.
Finally, in the music (with the moderately loud atmospheric splash and instant drop in tempo), as in a person's life, a point of "old age" is reached, where everything seems to suddenly slow down while the person still retains a sense of dignity and identity that they had during the previous phase of their life. As the song ends, like the end of one's life, their is a last moment of uplifting melody--the last beats of the heart. As the person's heart, and the music, sounds its final note and their breath slips away, so too does the music, gently and brightly fading into the rest of the universe....
The piano melody that can be heard repeating throughout the song is like a spiritual "marker" that uniquely identifies that particular person's consciousness, regardless of the countless changes it goes through throughout their life. Destiny 'Trip' is, overall, positive in its portrayal of the human life, not to ignore the negative realities and experiences that exist in real life, but because the whole purpose of my music is to uplift and inspire the listener to make the most of their life in the most positively-minded way possible--in part by reminding them of the common experience all humans have in life and in death. Keeping in mind that death as a part of life for us all helps a person realize that one day, all that will remain of them is their legacy--the memories others have of them and the influences they had on the world around them during their life, which will reverberate throughout all eternity. Keeping this truth in mind motivates a person to make better, more positive choices in how they live their life and in how they interact with others and the world around them.
The last song I will explain here, to further show that every song on the album has a strong conceptual basis that drives each songs' theme and motifs, is "A Brief History of Memory." Even though this is one of the songs I wish to expand on in terms of its length, the theme and motifs, which are already represented in the song, are based on the concept of a person, who could be anyone, and probably has been all of us at some point in our lives, who is quietly reflecting back on the memories of their life history. The positive and negative emotions associated with each of those memories is heard in the harmonies of the first, quiet section of the piece. As the song transitions into the second section, the music is composed to convey the sense of wonder, mystery, and uncertainty that that same person feels as they try to make sense of how those memories relate to their life in the present and how those memories should influence the way they move forward with their life in the future.
If you would like to learn similar background information on the other songs, you can be rewarded with a 30 or 60 minute phone conversation with me (among other incentives), depending on your donation amount. Be sure to check out all of the incentives; they are all good rewards for your support, regardless of the amount you choose to donate. The truth is, even the smallest investment on your part will make a big difference and will be greatly appreciated.
I sincerely thank you for your time and careful consideration. I know there is a lot of information to digest about myself, my music, and my record label. It's up to you how deep you want to go into the details of these things, but if you choose to dig deep, you won't be disappointed--I am an "open book" as they say, and that has a lot to do with the fact that I have always been a kind, loving, considerate person who is grateful for every achievement and contribution I have been able to make to benefit my fellow human brothers and sisters. I offer you all my best wishes. ONE LOVE..."
Second:
[Transcript from my Kickstarter project video presentation.]
"Hello Everyone!
My name is Matthew Morgan, though I usually go by Matt, and I am a 30 year old partially-disabled army combat veteran who is currently nearing completion of my college degree. There is a major abundance of detailed information about me on my Kickstarter project page (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wisefromwithin/wise-trip-eptm-album-completion) and especially my blog pages, so I won't bother covering all of that here....
On the internet and when referred to as a music producer I go by the alias "WiseFromWithin." This alias is simply a reminder to myself and others that true wisdom concerning anything (even right down to the very nature of existence itself) must be rooted and developed forth, first, from a genuine and deep understanding of 'thyself.'
I am seeking your support in investing in the completion of what is my debut album as a music producer, called Wise 'Trip' EP, which is currently in the "demo" stage. There is plenty of detail about my project on the project's pages, including where to go to listen to all of the songs, but I'll give you some background information on the concepts and meaning behind the album itself and a couple of the songs--information that you will not find anywhere else.
Both in the album's title and the 1st track's title, Destiny 'Trip,' the word "trip" has a double meaning, which is why it is in single quotes. It both means a trip, as in a journey, and also a "trip," as in a mental high that the music is intended to induce in the listener. The album concept is to explore the different, important aspects of human life through the use of music that serves as accurate metaphors for conveying those ideas in a way that is more emotionally engaging, more intuitively understandable, and more enveloping of consciousness for the listener, than could be achieved through words.
Destiny 'Trip' is a song that does not follow a standard musical song structure, as most of the songs on the album do not. Destiny 'Trip' is structured musically to be a metaphor for the human lifespan, with each of its stages represented in the proper, relative proportions. It begins with early childhood (which is the piano intro). It suddenly builds up, transitioning with a crescendo into the song section representing the phase of later childhood and adolescence.
The point in the song where there is only a duet of intertwining countermelodies, represents the transition in a person's life between adolescence and adulthood--a time when they retain their excitement for life, but, as a person, feel considerable uncertainty about who they are, what direction their life should head in, and also is the time when the person often feels alone in terms of not being able to understand their destiny through what advice others have to offer them--only they, them self, can figure all of that out use their intellectual conflict plays itself out (represented by the two countermelodies). When the rest of the music reenters, the person is a young adult, still filled with a sense of discovery and excitement about the world around them and how they are just beginning to understand how they fit in to it all.
When the song reaches the point where it modulates to a new key, speeds up, and is beginning to fill with even more energy--this represents the stage in a person's life when, who they are as a person, is stabilizing and settling into an identity the person at least partially understands. At the same time, the person finally has some degree of grasp on what meaning and purpose they want their life to have--in other words, what their destiny is; and they move forward with the next phase of their life that roughly spans between their late 20's and late 50's (the phase in one's life that begins musically at the point in the song when the "bridge" transition ends with the energetic drums entering and landing in the next section of the song).
At this point in a person's life, they are fairly confident in themselves and what they want out of life, and they also are applying--through their actions, not just their words--the values and ideals they identify with in most everything they do. The heightened energy and slight swagger of the music in this section intends to represent these ideas.
Finally, in the music (with the moderately loud atmospheric splash and instant drop in tempo), as in a person's life, a point of "old age" is reached, where everything seems to suddenly slow down while the person still retains a sense of dignity and identity that they had during the previous phase of their life. As the song ends, like the end of one's life, their is a last moment of uplifting melody--the last beats of the heart. As the person's heart, and the music, sounds its final note and their breath slips away, so too does the music, gently and brightly fading into the rest of the universe....
The piano melody that can be heard repeating throughout the song is like a spiritual "marker" that uniquely identifies that particular person's consciousness, regardless of the countless changes it goes through throughout their life. Destiny 'Trip' is, overall, positive in its portrayal of the human life, not to ignore the negative realities and experiences that exist in real life, but because the whole purpose of my music is to uplift and inspire the listener to make the most of their life in the most positively-minded way possible--in part by reminding them of the common experience all humans have in life and in death. Keeping in mind that death as a part of life for us all helps a person realize that one day, all that will remain of them is their legacy--the memories others have of them and the influences they had on the world around them during their life, which will reverberate throughout all eternity. Keeping this truth in mind motivates a person to make better, more positive choices in how they live their life and in how they interact with others and the world around them.
The last song I will explain here, to further show that every song on the album has a strong conceptual basis that drives each songs' theme and motifs, is "A Brief History of Memory." Even though this is one of the songs I wish to expand on in terms of its length, the theme and motifs, which are already represented in the song, are based on the concept of a person, who could be anyone, and probably has been all of us at some point in our lives, who is quietly reflecting back on the memories of their life history. The positive and negative emotions associated with each of those memories is heard in the harmonies of the first, quiet section of the piece. As the song transitions into the second section, the music is composed to convey the sense of wonder, mystery, and uncertainty that that same person feels as they try to make sense of how those memories relate to their life in the present and how those memories should influence the way they move forward with their life in the future.
If you would like to learn similar background information on the other songs, you can be rewarded with a 30 or 60 minute phone conversation with me (among other incentives), depending on your donation amount. Be sure to check out all of the incentives; they are all good rewards for your support, regardless of the amount you choose to donate. The truth is, even the smallest investment on your part will make a big difference and will be greatly appreciated.
I sincerely thank you for your time and careful consideration. I know there is a lot of information to digest about myself, my music, and my record label. It's up to you how deep you want to go into the details of these things, but if you choose to dig deep, you won't be disappointed--I am an "open book" as they say, and that has a lot to do with the fact that I have always been a kind, loving, considerate person who is grateful for every achievement and contribution I have been able to make to benefit my fellow human brothers and sisters. I offer you all my best wishes. ONE LOVE..."
January 1, 2015
Happy New Year Everyone!
I wish everyone a wonderful 2015, filled with love, happiness, laughter, great music, positive progress, a growth in personal wisdom, good health, family unity, supportive friends, and a genuine sense of fulfillment with all that you accomplish! I love you all...
One Love,
Matt
December 26, 2014
Insights from "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl
[Book Section 1 of 2: "Experiences in a Concentration Camp"]
-Book is an answer to: "How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?
-Concerned not with the main figures, but of the xp. of the unknown and unrecorded victims.
-Capos: prisoner leaders; fed decently; often more brutal to reg. prisoners than the SS; demoted if "ineffective".
-Stripped of identity; known by number; prisoner numbers, not qualities mattered.
-Moral/ethical debate nonexistent, only the instinct to survive; only the most cutthroat saved themselves at the expense of others.
-"These former prisoners often say, 'We dislike talking about our experiences. No explanations are needed for those who have been inside, and the others will understand neither how we felt then nor how we feel now.'"
-Three phases: initial period of admission (into camp), distinguished by shock; the period when well entrenched in camp routine; the period following release/liberation.
-"Delusion of reprieve": condemned man has the illusion that he might be reprieved at the very last minute.
-Consequential decisions (even life-and-death) treated with no regard or seriousness by the decision-makers.
-Stripped of any connection to former life; only had 'naked' existence.
-A grim humor developed (only thing that could now be taken was their life); affords an aloofness and ability to rise above any situation.
-A curiosity over the fate to be befallen; a objective detachment as a means of protection.
-The thought of suicide was widely entertained due in part to the hopelessness of the situation.
-The fear of death subsides after the first few days.
-"An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior."
-Entering the second phase, a "phase of relative apathy in which he achieved a kind of emotional death," a self-defense mechanism characterized by blunted feelings, unmoved by the suffering around him.
-"It is the mental agony caused by the injustice, the unreasonableness of it all," that "hurts the most."
-Insult is more rousing of indignation than the cruelty or pain itself.
-"Regression" occurred in camp inmates - a retreat to a more primitive form of mental life, characterized by very simple wishes and desires.
-How helpful is it to dwell on imaginings of good food when you've adapted to poor food (applies to other things as well), "for the sake of knowing that the sub-human existence which had made us unable to think of anything other than food, would at last cease"; more harmful than helpful?
-"...my body, is really a corpse already"; great mass of human flesh behind barbed wire, crowded into a few huts, which rots daily because it has become lifeless.
-When in an austere environment, seemingly small decisions about how to deal with circumstances end up having a profound impact on a person's mental state and willpower.
-"The truth - that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. ...The salvation of man is through love and in love."
-"I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss.... In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way - an honorable way - in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment."
-"Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance."
-The prisoner finds refuge from the emptiness, desolation and spiritual poverty of his existence by escaping into the past, finding solace in nostalgic memories.
-An appreciation of the beauty of art and nature develops far more than ever before.
-Meaning is found in the smallest of significances.
-"...suffering completely fills (disperses through) the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little."
-In such difficult situations "a very trifling thing can cause the greatest of joys"; "grateful for the smallest of mercies".
-Comparisons of wellbeing and luck were strictly relative to the experience of the person making the comparisons.
-"Freedom from suffering" was the primary source of any relative 'happiness'.
-"Under the influence of a world which no longer recognized the value of human life and human dignity, which had robbed man of his will and had made him an object to be exterminated... under this influence the personal ego finally suffered a loss of values. If the man in the concentration camp did not struggle against this in a last effort to save his self-respect, he lost the feeling of being an individual, a being with a mind, with inner freedom and personal value."
-Resigned to fate, combined with a great apathy.
-Guilt at the idea of escaping the situation when all the others would not be able to.
-A continuous fluctuation between hope and despair in the last hours and days of captivity.
-"We all had once been or had fancied ourselves to be 'somebody.' Now we were treated like complete nonentities. ...Without consciously thinking about it, the average prisoner felt himself utterly degraded."
-"...everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
-"...there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision... which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of the typical inmate."
-"...in the final analysis it becomes clear that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally... any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him - mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity.... ...the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom - which cannot be taken away - that makes life meaningful and purposeful."
-"...there is also purpose in that life which is almost barren of both creation and enjoyment and which admits of but one possibility of high moral behavior: namely, in man's attitude to his existence, an existence restricted by external forces. ...not only creativeness and enjoyment are meaningful. If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete."
-"It was impossible to foresee whether or when, if at all, this form of existence would end. ...A man who could not see the end of his 'provisional existence' was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life. He ceased living for the future...."
-"This feeling of lifelessness was intensified by other causes: in time, it was the limitlessness of the term of imprisonment which was most acutely felt; in space, the narrow limits of the prison. Anything outside the barbed wire became remote - out of reach and, in a way, unreal."
-"Regarding our 'provisional existence' as unreal was in itself an important factor in causing the prisoners to lose their hold on life; everything in a way became pointless."
-"One could make a victory of those experiences turning life into an inner triumph, or one could ignore the challenge and simply vegetate...."
-"Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it."
-"The prisoner who had lost faith in the future - his future - was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future, he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and became subject to mental and physical decay."
-Nietzsche: "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how."
-"We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life.... Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct."
-"He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place. His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden."
-"When the impossibility of replacing a person is realized, it allows the responsibility which a man has for his existence and its continuance to appear in all its magnitude. A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life."
-"Not only our experiences, but all we have done, whatever great thoughts we may have had, and all we have suffered, all this is not lost, though it is past; we have brought it into being."
-"'Freedom' - we repeated to ourselves, and yet we could not grasp it. ...Its reality did not penetrate into our consciousness; we could not grasp the fact that freedom was ours. ...Everything appeared unreal, unlikely, as in a dream. We could not believe it was true."
-"...no one has the right to do wrong, not even if wrong has been done to them."
-"A man who for years had thought he had reached the absolute limit of all possible suffering now found that suffering has no limits, and that he could suffer still more, and still more intensely."
-"We were not hoping for happiness.... And yet we were not prepared for unhappiness."
-"...for every one of the liberated prisoners, the day comes when, looking back on his camp experiences, he can no longer understand how he endured it all. As the day of his liberation eventually came, when everything seemed to him like a beautiful dream, so also the day comes when all his camp experiences seem to him nothing but a nightmare."
-Book is an answer to: "How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?
-Concerned not with the main figures, but of the xp. of the unknown and unrecorded victims.
-Capos: prisoner leaders; fed decently; often more brutal to reg. prisoners than the SS; demoted if "ineffective".
-Stripped of identity; known by number; prisoner numbers, not qualities mattered.
-Moral/ethical debate nonexistent, only the instinct to survive; only the most cutthroat saved themselves at the expense of others.
-"These former prisoners often say, 'We dislike talking about our experiences. No explanations are needed for those who have been inside, and the others will understand neither how we felt then nor how we feel now.'"
-Three phases: initial period of admission (into camp), distinguished by shock; the period when well entrenched in camp routine; the period following release/liberation.
-"Delusion of reprieve": condemned man has the illusion that he might be reprieved at the very last minute.
-Consequential decisions (even life-and-death) treated with no regard or seriousness by the decision-makers.
-Stripped of any connection to former life; only had 'naked' existence.
-A grim humor developed (only thing that could now be taken was their life); affords an aloofness and ability to rise above any situation.
-A curiosity over the fate to be befallen; a objective detachment as a means of protection.
-The thought of suicide was widely entertained due in part to the hopelessness of the situation.
-The fear of death subsides after the first few days.
-"An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior."
-Entering the second phase, a "phase of relative apathy in which he achieved a kind of emotional death," a self-defense mechanism characterized by blunted feelings, unmoved by the suffering around him.
-"It is the mental agony caused by the injustice, the unreasonableness of it all," that "hurts the most."
-Insult is more rousing of indignation than the cruelty or pain itself.
-"Regression" occurred in camp inmates - a retreat to a more primitive form of mental life, characterized by very simple wishes and desires.
-How helpful is it to dwell on imaginings of good food when you've adapted to poor food (applies to other things as well), "for the sake of knowing that the sub-human existence which had made us unable to think of anything other than food, would at last cease"; more harmful than helpful?
-"...my body, is really a corpse already"; great mass of human flesh behind barbed wire, crowded into a few huts, which rots daily because it has become lifeless.
-When in an austere environment, seemingly small decisions about how to deal with circumstances end up having a profound impact on a person's mental state and willpower.
-"The truth - that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. ...The salvation of man is through love and in love."
-"I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss.... In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way - an honorable way - in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment."
-"Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance."
-The prisoner finds refuge from the emptiness, desolation and spiritual poverty of his existence by escaping into the past, finding solace in nostalgic memories.
-An appreciation of the beauty of art and nature develops far more than ever before.
-Meaning is found in the smallest of significances.
-"...suffering completely fills (disperses through) the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little."
-In such difficult situations "a very trifling thing can cause the greatest of joys"; "grateful for the smallest of mercies".
-Comparisons of wellbeing and luck were strictly relative to the experience of the person making the comparisons.
-"Freedom from suffering" was the primary source of any relative 'happiness'.
-"Under the influence of a world which no longer recognized the value of human life and human dignity, which had robbed man of his will and had made him an object to be exterminated... under this influence the personal ego finally suffered a loss of values. If the man in the concentration camp did not struggle against this in a last effort to save his self-respect, he lost the feeling of being an individual, a being with a mind, with inner freedom and personal value."
-Resigned to fate, combined with a great apathy.
-Guilt at the idea of escaping the situation when all the others would not be able to.
-A continuous fluctuation between hope and despair in the last hours and days of captivity.
-"We all had once been or had fancied ourselves to be 'somebody.' Now we were treated like complete nonentities. ...Without consciously thinking about it, the average prisoner felt himself utterly degraded."
-"...everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
-"...there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision... which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of the typical inmate."
-"...in the final analysis it becomes clear that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally... any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him - mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity.... ...the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom - which cannot be taken away - that makes life meaningful and purposeful."
-"...there is also purpose in that life which is almost barren of both creation and enjoyment and which admits of but one possibility of high moral behavior: namely, in man's attitude to his existence, an existence restricted by external forces. ...not only creativeness and enjoyment are meaningful. If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete."
-"It was impossible to foresee whether or when, if at all, this form of existence would end. ...A man who could not see the end of his 'provisional existence' was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life. He ceased living for the future...."
-"This feeling of lifelessness was intensified by other causes: in time, it was the limitlessness of the term of imprisonment which was most acutely felt; in space, the narrow limits of the prison. Anything outside the barbed wire became remote - out of reach and, in a way, unreal."
-"Regarding our 'provisional existence' as unreal was in itself an important factor in causing the prisoners to lose their hold on life; everything in a way became pointless."
-"One could make a victory of those experiences turning life into an inner triumph, or one could ignore the challenge and simply vegetate...."
-"Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it."
-"The prisoner who had lost faith in the future - his future - was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future, he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and became subject to mental and physical decay."
-Nietzsche: "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how."
-"We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life.... Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct."
-"He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place. His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden."
-"When the impossibility of replacing a person is realized, it allows the responsibility which a man has for his existence and its continuance to appear in all its magnitude. A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life."
-"Not only our experiences, but all we have done, whatever great thoughts we may have had, and all we have suffered, all this is not lost, though it is past; we have brought it into being."
-"'Freedom' - we repeated to ourselves, and yet we could not grasp it. ...Its reality did not penetrate into our consciousness; we could not grasp the fact that freedom was ours. ...Everything appeared unreal, unlikely, as in a dream. We could not believe it was true."
-"...no one has the right to do wrong, not even if wrong has been done to them."
-"A man who for years had thought he had reached the absolute limit of all possible suffering now found that suffering has no limits, and that he could suffer still more, and still more intensely."
-"We were not hoping for happiness.... And yet we were not prepared for unhappiness."
-"...for every one of the liberated prisoners, the day comes when, looking back on his camp experiences, he can no longer understand how he endured it all. As the day of his liberation eventually came, when everything seemed to him like a beautiful dream, so also the day comes when all his camp experiences seem to him nothing but a nightmare."
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