Usually, before picking up a book, I do a lot of research on it. I go through the various reading lists that are available on the internet, find out if the book is a prize-winning book or not, check the ratings, and of course, go through the blurb of the book. Tuesday with Morrie was one book that had made its way through all kinds of reading lists. Everyone on the internet kind of insisted on reading it. And that’s the reason I picked it up.
I was really fascinated by the blurb of the book, particularly of the bond the book had captured. The book is about Mitch Albom and his sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz. Morrie gets diagnosed with ALS (a nervous system disease) in his old days. After Mitch gets to know about it, he visits Morrie in his home which eventually turns into a series of Tuesday meetings. The book is divided into 14 days across 14 weeks, which are the 14 visits that Mitch made. In all these meetings, they talk about valuable life lessons from Morrie’s life experiences.
Love is the only rational act
On the First Tuesday, they talk about the world. Even though he knew he was dying, he had grown more closer to people than he used to. He felt more connected to people and cared more about the world, even though he wasn’t going to be around for long. He says that we believe that we don’t deserve love, that if we let it in, we’ll become too soft.
“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.”
Morrie
Limit self-pity
On the Second Tuesday, they talk about feeling sorry for themselves. They talk about how people spent hours feeling sorry for themselves. It would be so much better if they would spend a few tearful minutes and then get on with their lives. Morrie, even with a horrible disease would allow himself only a couple of minutes of self-pity and then would move on to express gratitude towards all the good things that were still there in his life.
Last Day on Earth
On the Third Tuesday, they talk about regrets. We are so wrapped up in worldly things all through our life that we don’t even take the time to think if that is what we really want. And, I believe every soul on the face of earth needs that clarity in life, the kind that Morrie had found in his last days. The kind where you are aware of the very important things in your life.
Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live
On the Fourth Tuesday, they talk about death. Everyone knows they are going to die, but no one believes it. If they actually did, they would do things so differently. If you accept death and be prepared for it any time, it would get so much better. You would actually be more involved in your life while you are living.
Love each other or perish
On the Fifth Tuesday, they talk about family. The thing about family is there is this secure ground. You know there is always someone watching out for you. “If you don’t have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don’t have much at all”
Everything is impermanent
On the Sixth Tuesday, they talk about emotions. “Don’t cling to things, because everything is impermanent”. We should learn to detach ourselves. Detachment doesn’t mean that you don’t experience things fully. Rather, it means the exact opposite. It means to take it all in so that you can leave it.
Aging is not decaying, it’s growth
On the Seventh Tuesday, they talk about the fear of aging. As you grow, you learn more. It’s not just the negative that you are going to die. It is also the positive that you are going to die, so you live a better life because of it.
Do things that come from the heart
On the Eighth Tuesday, they talk about money. All our life, we hear about owning things. We hear how money is important. We hear it so much that eventually, we lose perspective of what actually is important. Morrie believed that people are so hungry for love that they try to substitute it with materialistic things. But that never works. You can’t substitute materials things for love or a sense of comradeship.
Love is how you stay alive
On Ninth Tuesday, they talk about how love goes on. Mitch believed in being fully present. If he was with you, he would only think about what is going on between the two of you at that moment. He wouldn’t think about what happened last week or what will happen in the coming days. People haven’t found meaning in their lives, so they are always on the go. They don’t pause to enjoy life.
Marriage
On the Tenth Tuesday, they talk about marriage. Morrie had a few rules about true love and marriage, not abiding by which could lead to a lot of trouble.
- Respect your partner
- Learn to compromise
- Talk openly about what goes on between you
- Your values must be alike. The biggest one of those values is your belief in the importance of your marriage.
Create your own culture
On the Eleventh Tuesday, they talk about their culture. Every society, every culture has its own problem. But the solution isn’t to run away. The solution is to create your own culture. We must learn to see every person as much alike as we are. If we saw each other as more alike, we would become more like a big family. Invest in the human family. We all need people to survive at all times.
Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others
On the Twelfth Tuesday, they talk about forgiveness. We need to forgive ourselves. We need to stop dwelling on the things we didn’t do or the things we did. Have no regrets. Forgive yourself and forgive others. We don’t always get the time for it.
On the Thirteenth Tuesday, they talk about the perfect day. If we can make peace with the idea of dying, we can make peace with living.
Goodbye
On the Fourteenth Tuesday, they say goodbye.
Morrie was an incredible man and I’m glad I got to be a tiny part of his Tuesday classes.
Summary
Morrie Schwartz was Mitch Albom’s sociology professor at Brandeis University. He was his favorite professor. On the day of his graduation, Mitch promised to stay in touch with his old professor as they parted with a hug. But he got busy with life and didn’t keep in touch.
It would have stayed that way. But one night, as Mitch was flicking through the TV channels, he saw Morrie on the Ted Koppel show. That’s when he got to know that his old professor had been diagnosed with ALS and was living his last days. Soon after that, Mitch went to visit Morrie in his home. And that’s how their reunion happened. They spent hours talking. It didn’t even seem like they hadn’t spoken for years. It was as if they had only gone on a long vacation.
After that meeting, Mitch came back home. A couple of weeks later, the unions at Mitch’s office went on strike and the place was shut down. Now, for the first time in his life, Mitch was out of a job. Apparently, this was going to go on for months. A week after the strike, Mitch called up Morrie. Morrie simply stated that Mitch has to come to visit him, no questions asked. They decided on a Tuesday.
Hereafter began the series of the Tuesday visits. That’s how Tuesdays with Morrie happened. This was going to be their final thesis. This was Morrie’s last class and Mitch was his only student. The subject of the class was “The meaning of life”. The lessons imparted were from Morrie’s life experiences. They talked about Death, Fear, Ageing, Greed, Marriage, Family, Society, Forgiveness, and much more. They talked about everything that’s actually important in life. Mitch recorded all these classes, a series of 14 Tuesdays.
The two things that I absolutely love about this book are Morrie and the narrative of the book.
Morrie was a man who was so full of life. He believed in living life to the fullest. He had such a positive attitude towards life, regardless of everything. He had been diagnosed with such a horrifying disease and was living his last days. But still, he managed to view life from an angle we never would have. He had no self-pity, only gratitude for the world that he was in. I was really overwhelmed by this.
My second favorite from the book is its narration. Although, this book is essentially a self-help book, at no point does it seem that way The narration is so effortless, that at no point do you lose the connection. I really related to all the topics covered, and I believe that I have a better understanding of life now. This book indeed covers lessons of a lifetime, so ..
Live life to the fullest..!
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Let us know your life’s greatest lesson in the comments below..!
“𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬
I have read this book, I must say it’s a nice review. Good work, keep it up.
Top ,.. top top … post! Keep the good work on !
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