In search of meaning: the possible lessons at the end of life

The eminent Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), who survived the Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War, is considered the father of Logotherapy. This is an approach, or so-called “meaning therapy”, based on the idea that human beings can overcome the suffering and disappointments inherent in life by finding meaning and purpose in every moment.

Frankl's life is one of those biographical stories that can touch anyone. The son of Jewish parents, he had to face poverty at a young age with the outbreak of the First World War. He came into contact with Sigmund Freud at the age of 16. He married and soon afterwards, with the German invasion of Austrian territory, he and his family were taken to the concentration camps, where his parents, wife and brother died.

In 1945, he was released from the concentration camp and returned to Vienna. He then began an independent line of psychotherapy: Logotherapy. The central point of therapeutic action is human motivation, freedom, dignity and responsibility. Frankl said: “Those of us who lived in the concentration camps can remember men who walked around the barracks comforting others, giving their last piece of bread. They must have been few in number, but they offered sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from man except one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose your attitude in any circumstance, to choose your own path.”.

In this sense, I invite you to reflect on the ability of human beings to choose how they experience, cope with and even overcome trauma and pain.

In February 2026, actor Eric Dane (pictured) passed away at the age of 53. He was best known for playing plastic surgeon Mark Sloan in the series Grey's Anatomy. The actor had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Shortly after his death, a video previously recorded by the actor was published. In it, he left a loving and very meaningful message to his children. His words portray his life experiences, lessons learned, regrets and his way of coping with severe illness.

I believe that his speech is, above all, an invitation to each one of us, with the aim of encouraging us to search for meaning and face life's natural challenges.

He makes at least four recommendations to his children:

▪ “Live in the now, in the present”.

▪ “Fall in love”.

▪ “Choose your friends wisely”.

▪ “Face life”.

And what are the lessons of these recommendations for each of us? The first is that the past doesn't return, and cultivating resentment or feelings of guilt doesn't help us in the continuous movement of life, which is to move forward. These feelings almost always paralyze us.

The second is that we must fall in love, above all, with a cause, with a reason in life that gives us meaning. Something that drives us to live, giving us true joy of the soul. What we do with love, living our days with purpose and good will, helps us especially in the darkest moments of pain and difficulty, driving away the sadness and laziness that paralyzes us.

The third lesson reminds us that we shouldn't live alone, isolated. We need someone to count on. True friends are those who support us without judgment, who reach out to us when we need it most and walk beside us with generosity and detachment. We need to know how to cultivate friendships. When we provide the right water and fertilizer, trees bear fruit.

The fourth and final lesson is a special invitation: to use resilience and courage not to give up in the face of natural and expected obstacles on the path of material life. We must learn to face setbacks with honesty, dignity and gratitude.

LUÍS GUSTAVO MARIOTTI is a doctor specializing in Geriatrics at the Escola Paulista de Medicina, with a specialty in Palliative Medicine, and coordinator of the Palliative Care Department of the Associação Médico-Espírita do Brasil (AME-Brasil).

Reference

FRANKL, Viktor. In search of meaning. Campinas, SP: Auster, 2023.