Standing in the middle of a playground with whistle in my mouth. When I blew my whistle the students of Lowell elementary school would begin the pledge allegiance to the American flag. It was a daily routine in 1945. But today was April 13, and the flag would not be saluted today.
Lowell school was built like a fort. The class rooms surrounded a large playground with softball diamonds and basketball courts in the middle. The whole area was covered with chat, no grass anywhere.
The school had a student guard that patrolled the halls, bathrooms and gates. You needed a pass to get through the school gates, common practice during the War. I was one of those student guards. I had the privilege of starting the pledge of allegiance in the morning.
On that morning I was interrupted by a special announcement over the loud speakers: “We are sad to announce that yesterday in Warm Springs, Georgia, our beloved president Franklin Delano Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
The stunned silence lasted barely a second. Then the cries of disbelief and alarm were deafening. There were over 700 students expressing their sorrow. Most were crying and hugging each other, some were sitting on the steps with head in hand. I was crying also as I looked around at the sea of sorrow. The teachers began to herd the students into the class rooms. There would be no flag salute today. Mr. James, the gym teacher, lowered the flag to half mast.
Lowell school was in the lower income part of the city, and President Roosevelt was loved for his guidance through the Great Depression. His New Deal had saved my family home from foreclosure by the bank. The WPA allowed my father to feed us with “make work” jobs for food.
Roosevelt also guided us through World War II with fire side chats, and finally he made Social Security a reality. My wife and I rely on Social Security checks to stay afloat today. Roosevelt was truly a peoples president. He cared for the American people, and they cared for him.
On April 12, 1945, President Roosevelt died and the people cried.
Thoughts are very important, they create your reality. When you change your thoughts you change your reality. Affirmations are the best way to change thoughts. Many years ago a pharmacist wrote an affirmation as a prescription for people with negative attitudes toward life. He asked them to repeat this affirmation at least twice a day, every day.
The affirmation was: “Everyday in every way I am getting better and better.” Many thanked him because it worked for them. Ever since people have used affirmations to change negative thoughts into positive ones.
Remember thoughts are like clouds passing through your mind, some are sad and depressing while others full of joy and uplifting. Gain control over negative thoughts by using affirmations. It takes little time and produces great results.
Viktor Frankl’s theory and therapy grew out of his experiences in Nazi death camps. He saw that people who had hopes of being reunited with loved ones, or who had projects they felt a need to complete, or who had great faith, tended to have better chances than those who had lost all hope. This video is presented by Lifespan Learning Institute.
Years ago, during my studies of Psychoanalysis, Psychology and related disciplines, I was privileged to meet Dr. Frankl. He was on a speaking tour of the United States and came to my home town. After the lecture, Dr. Frankl stayed in the hall to meet people on a personal basis. I talked to him for only five minutes, but will never forget the feel of his handshake; the experience of his presence.
Dr. Frankl was a survivor of the Holocaust. He had spent over three years in a Nazi death camp and lived to tell about it. Having seen the most inhuman conditions possible, he did not lose faith that life had meaning and was worthy of living. It was this faith that guided him through the horrendous ordeal.
The main thing Dr. Frankl taught was life has meaning, and the quotes below illustrate how he endured in the worst of conditions.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
“…everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
