“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task.” ~Viktor Frankl
Two years ago I was writing a novel in my mountain cottage. It was a dark and cold afternoon in February. First, I was pleasantly surprised to see something bright light up behind me. I thought the sun would be coming out. Then, when I turned back around, I discovered that my porch was on flames!
I stood in my slippers in the snow, staring back at the front and entrance of the building, which were completely engulfed in flames, before I realized what was happening.
The experience was almost like death. My mind quickly took an inventory of all the things that were inside the cottage now burning down—pretty much all of my personal belongings. However, in that moment, I realized that nothing else mattered but the manuscript I’d been working on.
After I’d taken a last look at my home and the charred ruins, I finally got my border colllie, Marius, into the car. The car key is a miraculous survival.
I was on my way to my mother’s house, nearly 100 miles away, where I would, or so I…
