-Friedrich Nietzsche on suffering
"As the prisoner's inner life tended to become more intense, he also experienced the beauty of art and nature as never before"
-Viktor Frankl in his observations of Holocaust prisoners
"The darks make the lights appear lighter, so we put the lightest lights in direct contact with the darkest darks in order to achieve a dramatic 3-Dimensional illusion."
-Art Instructors on technical value
The profound relationship between suffering and love, evil and beauty, and dark and light stems from the power of contrast. In any pair of opposites, one end is just as valuable as the other for the structure that it provides. If every day were free of suffering, there would be no standard for love. Frankl's article offers an extreme perspective on a relevant concept; that suffering brings meaning to love. He remembers instances where prisoners were overwhelmed with feelings of joy about the natural beauty of the sunset. They were able to feel extreme joy from something as common as the sun since their standard for love was brought down to an extreme low due to their miserable conditions. The extremity of life as a prisoner during the Holocaust is not the kind of suffering that people need to bring meaning to their lives, but Frankl's points shed light on a greater image of the human condition. People have a funny way of balancing the extremity of our emotions. Our lows bring our highs higher, as goes for the other way around.
The profound relationship between suffering and love, evil and beauty, and dark and light stems from the power of contrast. In any pair of opposites, one end is just as valuable as the other for the structure that it provides. If every day were free of suffering, there would be no standard for love. Frankl's article offers an extreme perspective on a relevant concept; that suffering brings meaning to love. He remembers instances where prisoners were overwhelmed with feelings of joy about the natural beauty of the sunset. They were able to feel extreme joy from something as common as the sun since their standard for love was brought down to an extreme low due to their miserable conditions. The extremity of life as a prisoner during the Holocaust is not the kind of suffering that people need to bring meaning to their lives, but Frankl's points shed light on a greater image of the human condition. People have a funny way of balancing the extremity of our emotions. Our lows bring our highs higher, as goes for the other way around.
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