A couple of months ago, Jill referenced a quote by Anne Frank in her blog.  It especially touched me as I too had been thinking about the Frank family and how they had lived in an attic in total isolation for almost two years.  It was a reminder to me that my semi-isolation paled by comparison to what the Franks and their fellow occupants endured.  Not only were they in seclusion but suffered from a bigger burden of living under constant fear of being discovered, captured and most likely killed.  Once again, my troubles and those of the people around me were miniscule by comparison. 

During this time Anne recorded in writing the happenings of her life and the events of the world around her in a vivid glimpse of living in what became known as the Secret Annex in a warehouse in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of Holland.  Anne had written the diary with the hopes of it being published when they got out of hiding and the war was over.  When the war ended and the concentration camps were liberated, Otto Frank, Anne’s father was the only family member to survive. Her father eventually returned to the annex, found Anne’s diary, had it published and her wish came true.  Anne Frank: The Dairy of a Young Girl has sold millions of copies all over the world and is a reminder to us to never forget what happened during this horrific time of the Holocaust and to never allow it to happen again.

Anne was a very strong-willed young woman, very intelligent and possessed deep thoughts and understandings of life seemingly beyond her young age of 15. This quote like many from her writing was profound then and remains timeless.  I keep my ideals because in spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build my hopes on a foundation based on confusion, misery and death.  I see the world around us being turned into a wilderness.  I hear the ever-approaching thunder which will destroy us too.  I feel the suffering of millions and yet, I look up to the heavens and I think it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end and that peace and tranquility will return again. (Anne Frank, 1944).

While we are not living in anything close to the unspeakable horror the Franks endured in their life time, these words resonate today.  We see many confusing and chaotic happenings taking place around us that are bringing misery, destruction and even death.  As Anne noted, the things around us look like they could turn our world into a wilderness and destroy us. I believe if we look to the heavens, ask for God’s help and guidance, through his unconditional love, our world will return to peace and tranquility because after all, I do believe like Anne, people are really good at heart. 

Patty