HW #24

Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom. Published by Double Day in 1997

Précis:
My Tuesdays with Morrie continued to be my most valued day of the week. With his death, he left me with his great influence. He was and has been for many many years, my coach, and even when facing death, he continued to teach me a number of things. He taught me to value life and live a life with meaning, rather than chasing after morally worthless wealth. You cannot buy happiness, which is what Morrie continued to tell me. With his death, he gave me a whole new life to live.

-"The class met on Tuesdays. No books were required. The subject was the meaning of life. It was taught from experience. The teaching goes on" (Albom, 192)
Morris absence does not change everything. He may have impacted certain people in certain ways, however life itself must continue. This relates to another quote involving a wave in the ocean and the wave not actually being a wave, but rather a fragment of the ocean. It symbolizes that life must continue regardless of losses of individual waves, or people, since they are simple part of the bigger picture.
-"Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others." (Albom, 164)
In short, this means that there are different ways to go about things. There are times to put others before you but times where that may not be the best idea. In order to forgive others you must first forgive yourself. You cannot do for others what you have not done for yourself first, just like you cannot or should not be supporting a family if you are unable to do so for yourself first.
-"It's not contagious, you know. Death is as natural as life. It's part of the deal we made."(Albom, 172)
This is just another situation where Morrie displays his acceptance of death. It also relates to the first quote where life still goes on despite his death.
As I finished the book, I began to truly value my life. I see that life is a gift and it made me think about how short it could potentially be. We do not know what could happen to us on any given day, at any moment, and I rather not let my life go to waste. I a, not going to make many significant changed and I will continue to look forward to the future, as I always have, however when an opportunity presents itself I will do my best to take advantage. I want to be proud of my life when it is through.