På første delen av padlepilegrimsturen leste jeg Viktor Frankls klassiker «Man´s Search for Meaning«. Her var det et sitat mot slutten som gjorde sterkt inntrykk.

Han skriver (på s. 152 i min utg. fra Rider Books):

…today´s society is characterized by achievement orientation, and consequently it adores people who are successful and happy and, in particular, it adores the young. It virtually ignores the value of all those who ar otherwise, and in so doing blurs the decisive difference between being valuable in the sense of dignity and being valuable in the sense of usefulness. If one is not cognizant of this difference and holds that an individual´s value stems only from his present usefulness, then, believe me, one owes it only to personal inconsistency not to plead for euthanasia along the lines of Hitler´s program, that is to say, «mercy» killing of all those who have lost their social usefulness, be it because of old age, incurable illness, mental deterioration, or whatever handicap they may suffer.

Dette sitatet skal jeg dvele mer over på vei mot Nidaros…