In a world often fixated on the pursuit of happiness, the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl offered a profound and enduring alternative: the will to meaning. His life, marked by unimaginable suffering, became the very foundation for Logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy centered on the human drive to find meaning and purpose in existence. Frankl argued that this innate drive, not the fleeting pursuit of pleasure, is the primary motivational force in human beings.
It's always revealing when I find texts that link to my art. Going through pain, sorrow, vulnerabilities and fragilities, all constants in my works, I believe helps us finding strengths and deeper meanings than numb happiness. In our palliative society we avoid suffering by all means, becoming vulnerable to even the most simple adversity. I don't advocate for a catastrophic life, of course not, but I stand against the silencing of pain. It's scary to see this happening on social media, and art becoming more and more compliant. My art goes turned down because dark, "anxiety inducing", and all I am doing is giving voice to all of those who are discriminated because their physical appearance.
I feel exactly the same. Why should we pretend to be happy when we’re struggling or in pain? It feels fake. This whole “stay positive” mindset can sometimes deny our real emotions. Personally, I prefer to feel what I truly feel. I’ve written about this, so if you’re interested, feel free to read it and share your thoughts.
Hello Alina, nice to know you. Thank you for your comments. I read the text you wrote and I particularly appreciate this part; "The demand for “normality” is the comfort of a faceless society. People who ask “don’t complain” are actually afraid to touch their own pain. So they force others to remain silent. But silence kills the living. By convincing yourself that “everything is fine,” you lose yourself." and I completely agree about the "faceless society" because there is a tendency to commodify living into a standard, a social media trend and it's difficult to deny that most of us live based on what's Instagramable, and social media tend to erase pain and sadness because it's bad for business, unless pain can be exploited for business. AI photo filters aim at sparking all of our photos, adding these notes of colours to make every moment look bright and joyful. Same happens with AI for image generation, everything must look cute and entertaining, fun and innocent, innocuous. Same is happening with art, artists are becoming more compliant, art must entertain, work as a sort of palliative escape and look good on social media, of course. I was diagnosed with an immune system disorder and physical pain became part of my daily life. It changed my whole perspective of life. Even people talking about Rheumatoid Arthritis, this is my chronic disease, had to comform to the "it's all good, let's have fun" reel and story format allowed, and imposed, by social media. I am sure that going through our condition with a smile might helps to ease the pain, but that's not the only way. And it should not silence other voices who go through pain differently. When things are not ok we should not fear to say "I am not ok". But unfortunately society struggles with pain, pain is failure, pretenting pretentiously is winning. I prefer honest weakness to staged and performed self awareness and success. Thank you for being in touch and for sharing your thoughts and feelings.
I have always said that I never wish to retire. To be useful to someone is more fulfilling then buying a bright shiny thing that makes you smile for 5 minutes.
It's always revealing when I find texts that link to my art. Going through pain, sorrow, vulnerabilities and fragilities, all constants in my works, I believe helps us finding strengths and deeper meanings than numb happiness. In our palliative society we avoid suffering by all means, becoming vulnerable to even the most simple adversity. I don't advocate for a catastrophic life, of course not, but I stand against the silencing of pain. It's scary to see this happening on social media, and art becoming more and more compliant. My art goes turned down because dark, "anxiety inducing", and all I am doing is giving voice to all of those who are discriminated because their physical appearance.
I feel exactly the same. Why should we pretend to be happy when we’re struggling or in pain? It feels fake. This whole “stay positive” mindset can sometimes deny our real emotions. Personally, I prefer to feel what I truly feel. I’ve written about this, so if you’re interested, feel free to read it and share your thoughts.
Hello Alina, nice to know you. Thank you for your comments. I read the text you wrote and I particularly appreciate this part; "The demand for “normality” is the comfort of a faceless society. People who ask “don’t complain” are actually afraid to touch their own pain. So they force others to remain silent. But silence kills the living. By convincing yourself that “everything is fine,” you lose yourself." and I completely agree about the "faceless society" because there is a tendency to commodify living into a standard, a social media trend and it's difficult to deny that most of us live based on what's Instagramable, and social media tend to erase pain and sadness because it's bad for business, unless pain can be exploited for business. AI photo filters aim at sparking all of our photos, adding these notes of colours to make every moment look bright and joyful. Same happens with AI for image generation, everything must look cute and entertaining, fun and innocent, innocuous. Same is happening with art, artists are becoming more compliant, art must entertain, work as a sort of palliative escape and look good on social media, of course. I was diagnosed with an immune system disorder and physical pain became part of my daily life. It changed my whole perspective of life. Even people talking about Rheumatoid Arthritis, this is my chronic disease, had to comform to the "it's all good, let's have fun" reel and story format allowed, and imposed, by social media. I am sure that going through our condition with a smile might helps to ease the pain, but that's not the only way. And it should not silence other voices who go through pain differently. When things are not ok we should not fear to say "I am not ok". But unfortunately society struggles with pain, pain is failure, pretenting pretentiously is winning. I prefer honest weakness to staged and performed self awareness and success. Thank you for being in touch and for sharing your thoughts and feelings.
Some questions....
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/authoritarian-therapy/201703/is-it-ok-criticize-saint-humanizing-viktor-frankl
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/on-authoritarian-therapy/201708/criticizing-a-saint-part-2
The will to self-actualization. The will to evolution. 🔥
I have always said that I never wish to retire. To be useful to someone is more fulfilling then buying a bright shiny thing that makes you smile for 5 minutes.
Thanks for the article.
Great article about a profound thinker and humanist. Thanks.
One of the most profound books I’ve ever read. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!