A Quick Review of As A Man Thinketh
What I liked the most about the book was how the author could give words to aspects of life that are difficult to explain.
Since time immemorial, man has wanted to know and understood the meaning of life. Or “Who am I?” This is the most significant motivational force in a man’s life. The frustration in human being leads them to an existential vacuum. This vacuum causes neurosis, and a vast section of society suffers from this problem in present times. The meaning of life cannot be generalized same is the case with success or happiness. Human life poses many questions constantly if one can find the meaning of life, eventually. The writer opines we can take everything from a man but one thing: the individual’s attitude under any set of circumstances to choose one’s way. It is this spiritual freedom–which cannot be taken away that makes life meaningful and purposeful. The writer elaborates his theory and says that one can discover the meaning of life in three different ways—one by creating a work or deed. Second, by experiencing something or encountering someone, and thirdly by the attitude, one takes forward unavoidable suffering. The writer warns against unnecessary suffering and pessimism. Humour is the best medicine for self-preservation and gives the ability to rise above any situation, maybe for a few moments.
There may be a fantastic way of knowing and understanding the meaning of life. One way to consider is that they have got a second chance to live life. They misbehaved in the first life. The book’s writer learned the meaning of life from his honest, first-hand accounts of life and loss in a concentration camp. This forced stay at the concentration camp led him to have deep insight into man’s search for the meaning of life.
Also See: 5 Best-Selling Original Christian Novels in Dystopian Genre
