Friday, February 9, 2018
Value in Natural Wealth
I found the most compelling part of Frankl's memoir was how appreciate he was of life. He used examples such as risking beatings to stop work for a few moments just to look at the sunrise. What is so compelling is the theme that the closer you are to death, the more the natural parts of life mean. This reminds me of when I visited Tanzania this past summer on a mission trip with my church. While the people there were so materialistically impoverished compared to my life, their natural wealth was so much greater than I feel American wealth is. Their lack of materials brought them closer in their communities, just like Frankl being taken away from all his material wealth made him appreciate the simpler things, like the sunrise, or the people around him, more. While by no means do I condone the conditions either of the aforementioned groups face, I think we do stand to learn that we can and should shift some of our values to prioritize community and natural wealth over manmade things.
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It's crazy how when you really look at it, none of this matters. Not to me, at least. I'm pretty guilty of being caught up in material goods. I wish I was less obsessed with owning more things and gaining goods. But when I really just separate myself from all of that, the only thing that truly matters to me is the Earth. It sounds pretty hippy dippy, but Mother Nature is just doing her thing, despite all of humanity's messiness. The mountains and the lakes and the sun and the stars are all that really matter at the end of the day, and when I remind myself of that, I find a lot of peace.
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