Ich danke dir für all das Gute und Liebe und Schöne
I thank you for all the good and love and beautiful (Anne Frank wrote this on 28th February 1944 in ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’)
She wrote this at a time when she had already spent years under constant existential threat from the Nazis. She was in her teens when she entered the secret annex – to live a life of immense uncertainty where each day was engulfed in the fear of being betrayed, imprisoned and deported to the death camps.
There is much to learn from Anne’s life and her struggles, especially from her spiritual journey during the tumultuous conditions she was forced into. Anne had Kitty, her personal diary, by her side all through her journey. Kitty was not only Anne's confidant but is also her teacher.
While reading this diary, one goes on a pure spiritual journey, that was cut short by the Nazis when Anne was close to her ‘awakening’ at a young age of 16. Who knows what she may have become to this world — what great things she may have bestowed on us.
Last month, i.e. June’21, was her 92nd birth anniversary. That is when I started writing this blogpost, as a tribute. I charted her journey through the various stages, from when she enters the secret annex and is full of hope to her feeling desolate among her family and friends. She dives deep into her inner-core to find what is happiness, who she really is, what is her purpose and how to find her own happiness. In this process, she not only proves to us she is a survivor but she also finds ways to self-improve and face her inner demons.
What makes her journey so great? It is the manner in which she shows us that we can find the answers to life’s deepest questions within ourselves — only if we were inquisitive enough and asked the right questions.
I hope her journey pushes you to introspect — to do some soul searching. We are a privileged generation. Yet, happiness should be our ultimate goal and self-improvement a constant endeavor.
(Below illustrations are a chronological depiction. The excerpts are from Anne Frank’s ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ along with the date of the diary entry.)
