Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality

Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life.

Just as a small fire is extinguished by the storm whereas a large fire is enhanced by it – likewise a weak faith is weakened by predicament and catastrophes whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them.

We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: 1. by doing a deed; 2. by experiencing a value; and 3. by suffering.

Even when it is not fully attained, we become better by striving for a higher goal.

Humor was another of the soul’s weapons in the fight for self-preservation.

The attempt to develop a sense of humor and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of a trick learned while mastering the art of living.

Self-actualization cannot be attained if it is made an end in itself, but only as a side effect of self-transcendence.

No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same.

It is here that we encounter the central theme of existentialism: to live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering.

This is the core of the human spirit … If we can find something to live for – if we can find some meaning to put at the center of our lives – even the worst kind of suffering becomes bearable.

The quest for meaning is the key to mental health and human flourishing

To suffer unecessarily is masochistic rather than heroic.

An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior.

Each of us carries a unique spark of the divine, and each of us is also an inseparable part of the web of life.

The point is not what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us.

Despair is suffering without meaning.

The more one forgets one’s own self, the more human the person becomes.

Ultimate freedom is a man’s right to choose his attitude.

God is the partner of your most intimate soliloquies

Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.

Every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.

If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering.

View life as a series of movie frames, the ending and meaning may not be apparent until the very end of the movie, and yet, each of the hundreds of individual frames has meaning within the context of the whole movie.

Man can only find meaning for his existence in something outside himself.

As for the concept of collective guilt, I personally think that it is totally unjustified to hold one person responsible for the behavior of another person or a collective of persons.

In times of crisis, people reach for meaning. Meaning is strength. Our survival may depend on our seeking and finding it.

The more one forgives himself – by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love – the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.

At such a moment, it is not the physical pain which hurts the most (and this applies to adults as much as to punished children); it is the mental agony caused by the injustice, the unreasonableness of it all.

A man’s concern, even his despair, over the worthwhileness of life is an existential distress but by no means a mental disease.

When a man cannot find meaning, he numbs himself with pleasure.

Man is not fully conditioned and determined but rather determines himself whether he gives in to conditions or stands up to them.

Man’s inner strength may raise him above his outward fate.

The last freedom is choosing your attitude.

But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.

When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer… his unique opportunity lies in the way he bears his burden.

I try to do everything as soon as possible, and not at the last moment. This ensures that, when I am overburdened with work, I will not face the added pressure of knowing that something is still to be done.

For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph, to turn one’s predicament into a human achievement.

Pain is only bearable if we know it will end, not if we deny it exists.

I do the unpleasant tasks before I do the pleasant ones.