Man's Search for Meaning adapted for Young Adults [adaptation] — passage 62

and death human life cannot be complete. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suʃering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—even under the most diʃcult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, digniɹed and unselɹsh. Or in the bitter ɹght 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 the moral values that a diffcult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not. Do not think that these considerations are unworldly and too far removed from real life. It is true that only a few peo- ple are capable of reaching such high moral standards. Of the prisoners only a few kept their full inner liberty and obtained those values which their suʃering aʃorded, but even one such example is suʃcient proof that man’s inner strength may raise him above his outward fate. Such men are not only in concentration camps. Everywhere man is confronted with fate, with the chance of achieving something through his own suffering. Take the fate of the sick—especially those who are incurable. I once read a letter written by a young invalid, in which he told a friend that he had just found out he would not live for long, that even an operation would be of no help. He wrote further that he remembered a ɹlm he had seen in which a man was portrayed who waited for death in a courageous and digniɹed way. The boy had thought it a great accomplishment to meet death so well. Now—he wrote—fate was offering him a similar chance. Those of us who saw the ɹlm called Resurrection—taken from a book by Tolstoy—years ago, may have had similar thoughts. Here were great destinies and great men. For us, at that time, there was no great fate; there was no chance to achieve such greatness. After the picture we went to the nearest café, and over a cup of coʃee and a sandwich we forgot the strange metaphysical thoughts which for one moment had crossed our minds. But when we ourselves were