Life, death and lot in between

Tuesdays with Morrie

An old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson

Mitch Albom

This book does what few books do,

Touches you somewhere deep inside.

It shakes you up,

Brings out tears hidden somewhere,

And leaves you in the company of questions.

Questions on your life.

Few lines (4 each on 3 themes) below 

Life and culture

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.

The culture does not encourage you to think about things until you are about to die. We are so wrapped up with egotistical things, career, family, having enough money, meeting the mortgage, getting a new car, fixing the radiator when it breaks – we are involved in trillions of little acts just to keep going. So we do not get into the habit of standing back and looking at our lives and saying, Is this all? Is this all I want? Is something missing?

Part of the problem is that everyone is in such a hurry. People have not found meaning in their lives, so they are running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find those things are empty, too, and they keep running.

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.

Life and death

It is natural to die. The fact that we make such a big hullabaloo over it is all because we do not see ourselves as part of nature. We think because we are human we are something above nature

Taking just makes me feel like I am dying. Giving makes me feel like I am living.

Aging is not just decay, you know. It is growth. It is more than the negative that you are going to die, it is also the positive that you understand you are going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.

Everybody knows they are going to die. But nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.

Life and else

Why are we embarrassed by silence? What comfort do we find in all the noise?

Sometimes you cannot believe what you see. You have to believe that you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too – even when you are in the dark.

If you are trying to show off for people at the top, forget it. They will look down at you anyhow. And if you are trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone.

A wise man named Levine said it right. He said Love is the only rational act.