After Pittsburgh

After Pittsburgh

A few months ago I read Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning for the first time. Despite its inclusion on so many “most important books” lists, I’d never read it. I devoured it in one afternoon, consumed by its powerful message of how we find meaning and purpose in life’s darkest moments. As soon as I put it down, I vowed to keep it close by and to re-read it the next time I felt despair, hopelessness or fear.

This weekend sent me right back to Frankl.

An Austrian psychiatrist who survived Auschwitz, Frankl used his time in the concentration camps to recreate a treatise he had (somewhat astonishingly) written before the atrocities of the Holocaust. His theory -- which proved true even after his experience as a prisoner -- is that people can survive in the wake of unthinkable suffering or devastation only if they can find meaning in life afterwards.

On Saturday, my husband, Jay, and I flipped between watching the news on television, computer and phone, where friends and family texted messages of love. It took only minutes to find connections to Squirrel Hill and people talking about what a special place it has always been.  

I’m usually active on social media, yet I felt hesitant to post. I could not find the words to comment on the tragedy. And sharing anything else felt wrong. When my brother asked me what to say to his son (my nephew), I ultimately shared a quote from Fred Rogers: “When I was a boy and would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me: Look for the helpers; you will always find people who are helping.”

By Sunday, Jay and I were out in the world, still consumed and distracted but resuming our pre-planned activities. We went to a costumed-dog Halloween parade in Washington Square Park and then a birthday party for a dear friend. As we left for the party, we talked about how right it felt to celebrate this friend, who dedicates her life to working for social justice: “At times like this,” I told my husband, “let’s remember to find the light, the people who symbolize hope.” She is one of those. 

By Monday night, I felt a need to be in community with others. Thankfully Jay suggested we to go an interfaith vigil sponsored by the Bronfman Center for Jewish Life at NYU. When we arrived at the Kimmel Center, the building’s steps were overflowing with Jewish students, along with people of all faiths and all ages. A roster of diverse speakers -- including several Jewish leaders, a Muslim imam, a Protestant reverend, and an eloquent young woman who grew up in Squirrel Hill -- all channelled Frankl in their talks. The themes were love, solidarity and light -- symbolized by 11 individual candles lit by a group of students who slowly and deliberately articulated the name of each victim as they lit each flame.

So many stories from that evening are swirling around my head, but one in particular has lodged in my memory. Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, Executive Director of the Bronfman Center, sent a group of NYU students and staff to provide comfort in Pittsburgh over the weekend. His colleague, Rabbi Joe Wolfson, recounted how a Jewish mother advised her daughter, a nurse who was in charge of the ICU floor at the hospital where the shooter is being treated, to wear her Star of David pendant proudly as a visible statement of both her faith and her humanity. I will think of this every time I see anyone wearing a Jewish star.  

Frankl identified the ways we can find meaning in times like now. It can happen through love, significant work, and through having hope for the future.

I feel especially Jewish this week and more closely connected to every group that has experienced fear and hatred. After this tragedy, I am more determined to join with others in the fight for a better world. And in the moments when that better world seems farthest from reach, I am determined to seek out those who are the helpers and the light.

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful, Marci. A response to hatred and tragedy all should emulate. 

Nancy Collamer

Semi-Retirement Coach and Author of Second-Act Careers: 50+ Ways to Profit From Your Passions During Semi-Retirement

5y

Beautifully said Marci!

NANCY ROLLINS GANTZ

Secretary, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing

5y

Excellent read, over and over through the years...

Barbara Field

Sr. Content Marketing Writer, Digital Marketer - AI, Health Tech, Health, Mental Health & Business. Writer, Speaker, Founder, Writing Life Stories (CBS, Harcourt, Microsoft, others)

5y

This really resonated with me. Thank you, Marci.

Sarah McKinney Gibson

Storytelling & Communications | Social Impact | Media Relations | Consumer Insights | Content Strategy

5y

Beautiful. 

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