When Mitch Albom heard that his college professor (from twenty years ago) was dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig's disease, he went back to visit him. He started visiting him every Tuesday. Here are excerpts from the book.
p. 1-2. The last class of my old professor's life took place once a week in his house...The class met on Tuesdays...The subject was The Meaning of Life. It was taught from experience...The last class of my old professor's life had only one student. I was the student.
p. 12-13. "When a colleague died suddenly...Morrie went to his funeral. He came home depressed. "What a waste," he said. "All those people saying all those wonderful things, and Irv never got to hear any of it." Morrie had a better idea. He made some calls. He chose a date. And on a cold Sunday afternoon, he was joined in his home by a small group of friends and family for a "living funeral". Each of them spoke and paid tribute to my old professor...His "living funeral" was a rousing success.
p. 42. I remembered what Morrie said: "The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it."
p. 43. I thought of something else Morrie told me: "So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."
p. 66. "Ask me anything," Morrie always said. So I wrote this list: Death, Fear, Aging, Greed, Marriage, Family, Society, Forgiveness, A Meaningful Life."
(You'll have to read the book to find out all the answers Morrie gave him.)
p. 81. "Everyone knows they're going to die," he said, "but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently...There's a better approach. To know you're going to die, and to be prepared for it at any time. That's better. That way you can actually be more involved in your life while you're living...Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, 'Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?'"
p. 174. One time, I asked if someone were to wave a magic wand and make him all better, would he become, in time, the man he had been before? He shook his head. "No way I could go back. I am a different self now. I'm different in my attitudes. I'm different appreciating my body, which I didn't do fully before. I'm different in terms of trying to grapple with the big questions, the ultimate questions, the ones that won't go away. That's the thing, you see. Once you get your fingers on the important questions, you can't turn away from them."
And which are the important questions?
"As I see it, they have to do with love, responsibility, spirituality, awareness. And if I were healthy today, those would still be my issues. They should have been my issues all along."
I was really touched by this book. It was very difficult to read the end, where Morrie died. What a wonderful soul he had. This book has changed my way of looking at the world. I want to be more prepared to die, and more appreciative of what I have while I am alive. I recommend this book to everyone.
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