Times of Brunswick, Winter 2017

Page 3

MESSAGE FROM THE

HEADMASTER Meaning Resides in Lives’ Cherished ‘Whys’

I

N THEIR choices and actions, knowingly

Conversely, “a man who becomes conscious

or not, they all answer the question: “Why?”

of the responsibility he bears toward a human

Consider the teacher who stays after hours to

being who waits for him, or to an unfinished

help a struggling student. Or the parent who

work, will never be able to throw away his life,”

commutes to work long before sunrise, on the

Frankl writes. “He knows the ‘why’ for his exis-

first train out of Greenwich.

tence, and will be able to bear almost any ‘how.’”

Or the alumnus who advocates for a current

At Auschwitz, Frankl observed again and again

senior in the college process. Or the fourth-grade

that an individual may be completely deprived

boy who volunteers to be a Big Brother for a

of every possession, right, and liberty — except

younger Bruin.

for his power and freedom to choose how he

Or the sophomore who dedicates the first evening of a long-awaited vacation — and the darkest hours of the following morning — to

responds to the circumstance or situation. No matter how disempowering or dehumanizing the experience became, Frankl writes,

serve the homeless on the streets of New York City on a Midnight Run. All of them, in large and small ways — day in and day out — pursue the value and “meaning” of their lives by dedicating themselves to a purpose, and by remembering that their actions in reaching out to help others build and strengthen that meaning by making powerful and lasting connections. In his concise and compelling book Man’s Search for Meaning,

“there were always choices to

IN WHAT WE DO — AND IN HOW AND WHY WE DO IT — WE SEEK EVERY DAY TO INSTILL IN OUR BOYS THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THEIR LIVES’ MEANING GROWS STRONGER AND RICHER THROUGH PURPOSE AND CONNECTION.

psychiatrist and Auschwitz

be made. Every day, every hour,

fundamental observation about life’s “primary

offered the opportunity to make

motivation” remains constant — and it’s a guiding

a decision.”

principle of everything we do at Brunswick.

Those who recognized the

getting, get understanding.” In what we do —

and decisions, he says, built

and in how and why we do it — we seek every

and maintained strength and

day to instill in our boys the understanding that

will to persevere, survive —

their lives’ meaning grows stronger and richer

and eventually to nourish and,

through purpose and connection.

in the doing, be nourished themselves in return. That’s true today, even in

I can’t help but marvel at all of those in the Brunswick community — students, faculty, parents, and alumni — who so clearly and

an environment of near-

consistently devote themselves to the greater

unimaginable plenty and

“whys,” many risking failure in their quests to

prosperity, more than 70

make their own lives more meaningful and the

survivor Viktor Frankl suggests that “search for

years after Frankl faced down and persevered

meaning” is the “primary motivation” of human

through and beyond the stark and bleak hope-

life: Without purposeful work or understanding

lessness of Auschwitz.

that we all can and do make a big difference,

As it says above our doorways: “With all thy

“whys” of making those choices

In our 21st-century lives, our circumstances

lives of others more full. I hope, each day, we may each take just a little time to ponder and cherish the potential of our individual and collective searches for meaning

we humans will naturally wither and finally

may be rich, joyful, preoccupying, or, on occa-

as, together, we venture through another

abandon the will to live.

sion, outright miserable. No matter: Frankl’s

remarkable school year.

Thomas W. Philip

WWW.BRUNSWICKSCHOOL .ORG

Headmaster.indd 1

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2/9/17 8:30 PM


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Times of Brunswick, Winter 2017 by Brunswick School - Issuu