I was inspired today by the story of Alice Herz-Sommer, the oldest known holocaust survivor who died today. She was a truly inspirational woman who, despite the horrors she must have endured in a Nazi concentration camp, remained positive and said, "whether life is good or not depends on me." Alice talked about how music saved her life and her sanity during those dark times. An Oscar-nominated documentary by Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life tells the story of the concerts that Herz-Sommer, a pianist, and others performed in concentration camps to lift the spirits of prisoners."
http://oscar.go.com/nominees/documentary-short-subject/the-lady-in-number-6-music-saved-my-life
The film's creators added that:
"Despite all that has befallen her, Alice insists that she has never, ever hated the Nazis, and she never will. Some see in her tolerance and compassion a secular saint who has been blessed with the gift of forgiveness, but Alice is far more pragmatic — she has seen enough in her life to know all too well that hatred eats the soul of the hater, not the hated."
Alice's story reminded me of another story of courage from a man who also survived a concentration camp, Viktor Frankl. In his book "Man's Search for Meaning," he says, when talking about being a prisoner, "Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him-mentally and spiritually. If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity-even under the most difficult circumstances-to add a deeper meaning to his life."
Remember what David Steindl-Rast said (December 4 blog, this is the secret to happiness) "The key to happiness is living gratefully. Becoming aware that every moment is a gift to you. The moment and all it's opportunity is the gift within the gift given to everyone everyday."
Follow the link below to read the whole story about Alice
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/24/281965889/oldest-known-holocaust-survivor-dies-pianist-was-110?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=share&utm_medium=facebook
Be grateful for every moment you have and appreciate the gift of life you have been given.
http://oscar.go.com/nominees/documentary-short-subject/the-lady-in-number-6-music-saved-my-life
The film's creators added that:
"Despite all that has befallen her, Alice insists that she has never, ever hated the Nazis, and she never will. Some see in her tolerance and compassion a secular saint who has been blessed with the gift of forgiveness, but Alice is far more pragmatic — she has seen enough in her life to know all too well that hatred eats the soul of the hater, not the hated."
Alice's story reminded me of another story of courage from a man who also survived a concentration camp, Viktor Frankl. In his book "Man's Search for Meaning," he says, when talking about being a prisoner, "Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him-mentally and spiritually. If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity-even under the most difficult circumstances-to add a deeper meaning to his life."
Remember what David Steindl-Rast said (December 4 blog, this is the secret to happiness) "The key to happiness is living gratefully. Becoming aware that every moment is a gift to you. The moment and all it's opportunity is the gift within the gift given to everyone everyday."
Follow the link below to read the whole story about Alice
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/24/281965889/oldest-known-holocaust-survivor-dies-pianist-was-110?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=share&utm_medium=facebook
Be grateful for every moment you have and appreciate the gift of life you have been given.
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