...being human always points, and is directed, to something, or someone, other than oneself—be it meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself—by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love—the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.... What is called self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all, for the simple reason that the more one would strive for it, the more he would miss it. In other words, self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence.

It is here that we encounter the central theme of existentialism: to live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering.

As such, I also bear witness to the unexpected extent to which man is capable of defying and braving even the worst conditions conceivable.

Decisions, not conditions, determine what a man is.

Life requires of man spiritual elasticity, so that he may temper his efforts to the chances that are offered.

How can we dare to predict the behavior of man? We may predict the movements of a machine, of an automaton; more than this, we many even try to predict the mechanisms or "dynamisms" of the human psyche as well. But man is more than psyche.

Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude.