Anne Frank’s diary is one of the most-read pieces of literature from the holocaust. The 13-year-old’s invincible human spirit in the face of nazi holocaust of Jews spoke volumes to millions across the world.
Anne and her family hid in secret rooms in her father’s office building for 2 years before being caught and deported to nazi concentration camp. In the hideout, Anne wrote in her diary all sorts of emotions, feelings, and experiences that she went through. When her diary was found and published after her death, the whole world was struck by the beauty of human nature expressed in Anne’s passages. Notes in her diary showed an incredible amount of courage and wisdom, especially for a person her age.
Here are some profound quotes from Anne’s diary:
1. “Whoever is happy will make others happy too.”
Being happy is the natural state of human beings and not something gained from external stimuli. When we are in tune with this inner and continuous state of bliss, we naturally spread it by sharing it with others.
Wherever people are happy, they are helping others achieve the happiness too, especially in these times of the internet and social media. Once a group or community of people are able to align themselves with the permanent state of happiness within, it will create a contagious effect leading to global bliss.
2. “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
Morality is an inbuilt human trait. In spite of all the experiences accumulated over generations of all kinds of genocide and atrocities, the inherent goodness always remains in human beings. Every newborn has the innate traits of righteousness, truthfulness, love, and compassion. All the wrong and unfounded beliefs and practices bestowed by society can not remove the existential goodness that is innate to human nature.
3. “I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”
Life is an opportunity to know the reality. There is only love, bliss, and abundance in existence. The beauty of life is best experienced when we exist in harmony with other human beings and nature. Misery is what we inflict upon ourselves by losing grip over reality and being carried away by our imagination.
4. “Memories mean more to me than dresses.”
Every day on the Earth is an opportunity for us to interact with others and create beautiful experiences. Living and reliving these moments of connectedness is the naturally occurring desire and the purpose of our soul. Our body just acts as a facilitator here. The dresses symbolize material possessions and memories symbolize the precious human relationships and interactions that are greater than any material possession. Dresses, cars, paycheques, houses, etc. do not matter, but memories of togetherness, love, compassion, and laughter do.
5. “In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.”
All those things that we have invented to dominate and harm other human beings have only made life on earth worse. Be it bombs, guns, money, or anything, all these have resulted in the misery and pain for human species as a whole. Only through kindness and trust among us, can we successfully thrive as a species on this planet. As sentient beings, we have evolved to live collectively and to be in harmony with each other. Remaining kind, sympathetic and spreading positivity among our species is our natural behavior.
