Frankl in time of excess

Frankl wrote in search of meaning in 9 days after he achieving freedom. He wrote from a state of nothing, had nothing left, and was only days from expiring. We search for meaning from the other end; we have excess of most everything, including food. Does this background change the situation?

We can still use people, places, things, or philosophies as a source of motivation. We can use pleasure, the good life virtues, purpose, meaning, people, career, family, experience, or some hypothesis as motivation. But how, when we have many choices, do we narrow down to just one primary? Perhaps we have a issue of not lack of possible purposes, but rather to many good choices with all this freedom and opportunity. We eliminate one at a time until we are left with... well that is the problem. 

When we have all we need, we may find ourselves satisfied. Replete. All our needs satisfied. Now what is there to motivate us at a personnel level? Now we need to find another need to motivate ourselves. Such is the issue when retirement and the loss of need to work arrives. I expect that one on welfare, with a meager income might experience the same loss of motivation, not enough to do much, too much free time and nothing that they can do... or want to do. This would take meaning from me. Oh well. So were am I going with this...Well it is just a thought, that needs to be noted and understood. That may explain the difficulty in getting off welfare. Just enough to keep one from getting hungry, but not enough to live on.

You can live with any "how" if you have a "why." or so repeats Frankl. That why is important to keep in front of our minds to keep us motivated. Growing up and being motivated away, avoidance, and the like were suitable then, but avoidance of people is not good. I was harassed so much as a child that I would not go back without reason, and certainly not to my high-school 50th reunion. I did not want to see any of those assholes that drove me out. That happened this last summer. Oh well.       

Now motivation and purpose or meaning become important to keep at the forefront of the mind. Seniors die off frequently. Senior suicide is alarmingly high, but I do not have an issue with that. That door is always open, unless we become incapacitated. Keeping a active reason to live is important, but other people is not a good reason for some of us who are oversensitive to harassment or aggravation. Some of us consider other people to be hell. Oh well, itewajda.