Tuesdays with Morrie is a novel based on a true story of a professor named Morrie Shwartz and the memorable lessons he taught the people around him, especially his student, Mitch Albom. Morrie taught sociology at Brandeis University. His seriousness towards teaching and the way he has lived his life with care and compassion towards others allows him to be a mentor and teacher to all of his students, especially in the lessons he teaches Mitch every Tuesday. Mitch is one of Morrie's former students who comes to visit Morrie every Tuesday after learning of his illness. In addition to his passion for teaching, Morrie also has a heart for dance and music, and instead of getting caught up in the worldly affairs and materialistic aspects of life, he spends his time enjoying life and creating meaningful memories and connections with those that surround him. Concluding his career as a professor, Morrie was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. It is a disease with rapidly deteriorative and degenerative effects on muscles and manifests itself with progressive muscle weakness. Although this ended his career as a college professor, Morrie did not end his love of teaching in general. He hasn't let his condition take over and has managed to stay positive, however he takes some time to mourn himself in the morning. Because Morrie had always had the heart and joy of being a teacher, he taught continuously throughout his life, until the end. Morrie used Ted Koppel's interview platform and gave Mitch weekly lessons to teach him the meaning of life and how to accept death and live a meaningful life. Toward the end of his life, Morrie taught everyone, including family, friends, and journalists, the meaning of life using his powerful words. His words matter because of the lessons and insights Morrie had to offer. Morrie focused on the true meaning of life, which leads to death, rather than what we possess and are surrounded by. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the main Tuesdays with Morrie aphorisms that Morrie tries to teach in his lessons is that "Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live." Morrie says this during the fourth Tuesday when he and Mitch talk about death. Mitch asks how a person can prepare for death and Morrie responds with a Buddhist philosophy that every day a person should ask the bird on their shoulder if it is the day they will die. This is a symbol of how Morrie is getting closer and closer to his death by the day. Morrie believes that people refuse to believe that they will one day die and, therefore, do not live their lives as fully as they feel they could and also have many regrets as they grow older and their death approaches. According to him, once we learn and accept that we will die one day, we learn to live our lives fully and without regrets. Morrie repeats this quote often throughout the chapter to emphasize how important and helpful it is to accept death and what a benefit it would be to live out the rest of our lives. Morrie also wants Mitch to see how he can appreciate the smaller, more genuine things in life, knowing that his death is approaching and that we will all die eventually, so it's best to live our lives now. The main lesson of this aphorism is that you must accept the possibility of your own death before you can truly appreciate what you have on Earth. This aphorism had aimpact on my life because it opened my eyes to the possibility that I should live every day doing what I enjoy most, as we will leave all these worldly desires and passions behind when we die. For example, I'm at the stage in my life where I'm deciding what major I want to pursue. If I were to choose a major that I wasn't happy with, I would live in pain and unhappiness until I had to change it. Studying something that interests me would lead to happiness and appreciation of what I have, just as I would live every day studying something I wouldn't regret before I die. This is why we should appreciate what we have on Earth because it is precious and it will all end one day. Another important Tuesdays with Morrie aphorism that Morrie tries to teach during his lessons is that "Don't let go too soon." , but don't wait too long." Morrie says this on the twelfth Tuesday during one of his interviews with Ted Koppel, while talking about his experiences and his impending death. He is admitting that he has come to terms with his illness and that he will die. He wants to die in peace rather than in evil. Morrie's idea of slowly “letting go” of the outside world is related to the idea he previously told Mitch about the Buddhist belief in detachment is getting closer to death day by day, Morrie is detaching himself from his life and is committed to acceptance and faith that death will only bring new life. The main concept of this aphorism is that when we experience important moments and experiences, we should take time to experience them, and not move on immediately, but also not waste time lingering on that experience. This aphorism can be seen in my life in terms of losing friendships and people. Instead of experiencing intense emotions while continuing to live in the life of a person, a person simply stays in their emotions. In the lesson of this aphorism, Morrie tells us to do the former rather than the latter. This aphorism has enriched my perspective on life because it allows me to see that it is harmful for us to overthink rather than move on with our lives, because dwelling on our emotions only takes us away and harms us. A final aphorism in Tuesdays with Morrie that Morrie tries to teach during his lessons is “Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others." On the Twelfth Tuesday, Morrie and Mitch discuss forgiveness. Morrie sees no reason to harbor any kind of revenge or stubbornness; then he admits that he had a certain pride in his life and regrets it. He remembered the story of his old friend Norman with whom he spent a lot of time. After Norman and his wife moved to Chicago, Morrie's wife Charlotte had to undergo a serious operation. Norman never contacted Morrie or Charlotte even though they knew about the operation. This hurt Morrie and Charlotte so much that they decided to end their relationship with Norman. Norman tried to apologize and reconcile but Morrie never accepted his apology. After Norman's death, Morrie regretted never forgiving him. Morrie then feels that we must also forgive ourselves for the things we should have done. Explain that we cannot stay stuck in regrets of what should have happened. He advises you to make peace with yourself and those around you. The main lesson of this aphorism is that you need to be at peace with yourself because sometimes you can't fix things and be at peace with other people. The best thing is not to be too late to forgive yourself. This aphorism and life lesson has added perspective to my life because it has led me to believe that you should always try to reconcile and fix relationships with others, but if it is.
tags