Life Is Inherently Unfair. So What Do We Do About It?

I have started a video series titled '1 min Reflections' where I share a quote or insight that I find meaningful; the idea is for me to say very little! I am fascinated by how people respond to such questions, particularly in relation to themselves and their life setting.

In Logotherapy and Existential Analysis we are constantly asking questions, but more importantly, we apply the answers to a 'real world' setting. Those answers are far from abstract; they prompt us to think about what is truly important to us, as individuals, but also as responsible beings in a complex world.

Viktor Frankl set the scene for this style of dialogue in his biography of the Holocaust, Man's Search For Meaning':

“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”

With that in mind, I am reflecting tonight on a quote from Haruki Murakami's powerful and evocative novel, 'Norwegian Wood': 'The world is an inherently unfair place'.

And it is. The challenge that faces us, however, is a personal one: how do we respond to that reality? What does life expect of us in such circumstances? How can we address unfairness as we see it, in our own unique circumstances?

It is worth thinking about because it has meaningful consequences.

Anyway, here's my take on it: