1. Life’s Greatest Lesson…
Life moves fast these days, especially in my world of high-risk endeavors and incredible stress. While this environment breeds great personal growth and development, it comes with downsides. The biggest downside to this approach is that the “What’s next?” mentality can create an existence where we fail to enjoy the little things in life. We are so worried about the future and the next steps that we fail to truly enjoy the moments that matter. What is the point of all this hard work and determination if we never take a moment to sit down and enjoy what we have created? If we aren’t adamant about solving this problem, we will arrive at our deathbed asking, “What was it all for?”. In an effort to address this issue of mine, I combed online book gurus for stories about death, the essence of life, and enjoying the small things. What I came across is Mitch Albom’s "Tuesday's with Morrie", a book that made me tear up more than any other story I’ve experienced in the last 26 years of my life. This one is special. Let’s dive in.
2. Wake-Up Call
Mitch Albom, the author and main character of this book, was a successful sports journalist deeply engrossed in his career. While Mitch experienced great success in his work, he rarely felt satisfied or good enough. His life was dominated by a relentless pursuit of work, growth, and recognition in his field. As a result, Mitch self-admittedly allowed many of his relationships to wilt while he focused solely on his career. This period of Mitch’s life can best be characterized as an obsession with material wealth, validation through work achievements, and little to no leisure. The turning point came when Mitch was watching an episode of "Nightline" on television and recognized the guest on the show. The guest was Morrie Schwartz, a college professor he was incredibly close with before he entered this work-obsessed period of his life. Morrie was appearing on "Nightline" because he had been diagnosed with ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that inevitably leads to death. Upon seeing Morrie, Mitch was filled with appreciation and regret as he reflected on the massive impact Morrie had on him during his college days. And despite the grim prognosis, Morrie had an incredibly positive outlook on life that was displayed on his "Nightline" appearance. This moment for Mitch ultimately led him to reach out to Morrie, leading to the weekly visits that would become the heart of "Tuesday's with Morrie". Every Tuesday, Mitch would visit Morrie, and they would talk through various subjects pertaining to the meaning of life. This would be the final class that Morrie would ever teach, but the classroom would be Morrie’s living room chair. From meeting to meeting, or class to class, Mitch would watch Morrie slowly wilt away, consumed by the melting candle effect that ALS forces onto its victims. But what you will find through this story is that Morrie was the furthest thing from a victim, and his journey into the dying light was filled to the brim with wisdom, meaning, and advice that would change any human's life for the better. Here is what Morrie had to say.
3. Morrie’s Lessons
As Mitch settled into his Tuesday meetings with Morrie, it became strikingly obvious that Morrie was fading quickly. Along with this was the well-spoken wisdom Morrie displayed about the true meaning of life. It’s important to note that Morrie was a college professor for many years and as a result had an incredible storytelling ability, magnified by his innate wisdom regarding the important things in life. Mitch decided to become more organized with the questions he asked Morrie, making a list of topics he wanted to cover, which he would record and use to create a book that would essentially become “Morrie’s final class.” The following were those talking points:
Personal Values: The first conversation Morrie and Mitch have is about the tendency of individuals to conform to societal culture and norms. Morrie essentially states that we lose ourselves in the urge to fit in with societal standards, leading to enormous regret at death's door.
Self-Pity: The next conversation circles around self-pity and the habit many humans have of spending too much time sitting in sadness. Morrie argues that it is incredibly important that we acknowledge sadness without letting it dominate our lives. Especially in today’s world of comparison, feeling sorry for ourselves and our circumstances is a great way to let life melt away in front of us.
Regrets: Morrie then talks about the importance of developing healthy relationships with regrets. We all have regrets, but how we deal with them can either lead us to always living in the past and missing the moment, or it can lead to healthy acknowledgment and a “move-forward” mindset.
Death: This discussion was a powerful one. Morrie states that accepting death is an essential part of human life. While leaving the people you love and the world you have built is not ideal, this limited time we have here on earth is what gives the human experience so much beauty and novelty.
Family: They talk about the importance of family, specifically as it pertains to sustaining the love that fuels family relationships. They then finalize the conversation by discussing the unique aspect of our emotional selves that is fulfilled by our family members. These need to be cherished!
Marriage: Morrie then shares his perspectives on marriage, which revolves around pillars of respect, compromise, and the common values within a partnership.
Our Culture: They dive into the problems of modern-day culture, specifically as it relates to the prioritization of wealth and success over deeper and more profound connections and personal fulfillment. This one was special to me. A much-needed conversation for a majority of people that holds special weight when coming from someone staring death in the face.
I left some of their discussions out because the list would be too long, but these short snippets do not do Morrie’s insights any justice whatsoever. I highly suggest that you personally experience this story for yourself as it is deeply profound. But before we go, we will talk about Morrie’s final lesson. The last topic Morrie and Mitch discussed before his death.
4. Saying Goodbye
The final lesson of Morrie’s was that of saying goodbye, mainly as it pertains to saying goodbye to those we love, the significance of reflection, and the acceptance of death. At this point in the story, Morrie’s health has almost completely deteriorated. He is unable to eat and perform basic functions. It becomes evident that Mitch needs to say goodbye to Morrie, and this is difficult for him to come to terms with. Morrie helps Mitch through the process, emphasizing the importance of accepting death as a natural process that should not be feared but rather should be appreciated because our limited time on earth brings everyday experience all of its beauty. The kicker here is that many of us do not utilize this perspective. Rather than accepting death and having that aspect of humanity detail our daily experience and appreciation, we hide from it and live life as if we have unlimited time to chase our dreams and passions.
The primary lesson it seems that Morrie teaches us through this process is the true dignity that is warranted by facing death head-on and expressing beauty and gratitude to those that we love before our time is up. Goodbyes are not simply a farewell but expressions of love and acknowledgment for impactful relationships. To end the story, this process throws Mitch for a spin, forcing him to confront his own life and challenges with facing the idea of death.
Mitch was with Morrie during his last few days on earth, and this experience was profound to read. There was immense reflection on the decades they had known each other and the value and wisdom Morrie was able to provide not only to him but to almost every life he touched, from students to close friends.
5. Conclusions
This book will take you on the longest walk of your life. It will make you appreciate life like never before. It will leave you emotional and distraught. It is an incredible story. It has actually been a while since I have read this book, and I am disappointed to say that much of the beauty and insight this book provided me has passed. It has, once again, been forgotten as the stresses of daily life distract me from the bigger picture. So, I am using this review as a reminder for myself and the reader that life is incredibly short. The clock is ticking. While pursuing passions, dreams, and stimulation in our lives is essential, staying focused on what will truly matter when we take our last breath seems to be the most important thing of all. Good luck out there, friends.
Cheers,
Hunter