Tuesdays with Morrie
Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom gave me a broad outlook on life. Tuesdays with Morrie is a book about a college professor, Morrie, and his student Mitch. Mitch made Morrie a promise when he graduated that he would keep in touch. 16 years later, Mitch seen Morrie on the show called "Nightline" and finally gets back in touch with his old professor. Mitch learns that Morrie has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Mitch begins to meet with Morrie more and more until he passes away. Throughout the book, Morrie teaches Mitch lessons about life and compassion. Mitch combined all of the things he learned from Morrie to create Morries "last thesis", which was this book. Tuesdays with Morrie impacted my outlook of life in a positive way, and also related to the seven dimensions of wellness.
Tuesdays with Morrie made me realize a lot about life. For example, it made me realize that people tend to throw their life away when things get hard. One quote that Morrie said that inspired me was "Once you learn how to die, you learn how to
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Self-help is helping yourself by finding out what you can do on your own. Instead of avoiding his fears, Morrie helps himself by confronting the things he fears, such as death. Morrie had many people who cares about him and supported him as much as they could. Morrie had a positive attitude towards death, unlike a lot of individuals. The four primary dimensions of coping with dying are physical, psychological, social, and spiritual. Morrie contributed all of these strategies into his coping. Morrie minimized his stress, maximized his self-worth, sustained significant relationships, and developed hope. Morrie viewed ALS not as a threat, but as a challenge. Morrie kept his positive outlook on death and didn't spend the rest of his life sobbing; Morrie enjoyed his last 2
If given the choice, Morrie would have liked to be reincarnated as a gazelle. A gazelle is a graceful, fast animal whose name originates from the Arabic word “gazal”, the term for love poems. Morrie choses this creature because it represents the opposite of his current state. ALS keeps Morrie a prisoner within his own body, he is unable to move swiftly and break free of the disease that chains him to his house. Morrie wishes nothing more than to be able to be as free as a
As for Morrie, he goes through the stages of death: Denial, anger, depression, and acceptance. An example of Morrie’s denial is when he states that he dreams of dancing and being free of ALS.
It is truly remarkable how Randy Pausch and Morrie Schwartz stories are so similar but yet so different. They both seem to have an outlook on life in a positive way, not sad or demeaning. The only crippling difference is the fact that Morrie was at the age that wasn’t abnormal to be sick and Randy was just dealt the cards for a short life. One of Professor Randy Pausch’s many quotes during The Last Lecture makes a similar point between his experience and Morrie’s when he says, “…it’s hard to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer – people who get it don’t live long enough.” ALS is such a rehabilitating disease that scientist have issues pinpointing the causes to even get close to a cure, which didn’t hinder either of their strive to keep going as far as they could.
Mitch Albom and Morrie Schwartz, surely, demonstrate a mutualistic relationship in Tuesdays with Morrie because both characters benefit from affection, and their visits gives them a sense of purpose. One way Mitch and Morrie share a mutualistic relationship is with love and affection. Morrie is very affectionate and outgoing, so he surrounds himself with the people he loves instead of shutting everyone out when he discovered he had ALS. Mitch describes Morrie’s need for affection when he says, “I suddenly knew why he so enjoyed my leaning over… or wiping his eyes. Human Touch. At seventy-eight, he was giving as an adult and taking as a child” (Albom 116). Mitch sees that Morrie likes affection, and at first he feels uncomfortable at first, but by his last visit, he had changed, ”I leaned in and kissed him closely…he had finally made me cry” (Albom 185-186). Mitch also benefits greatly in this relationship. After his uncle passed away, Mitch decides t...
Morrie Schwartz was Mitch Alboms college professor more than twenty years ago. We are first introduced to Morrie while Mitch is flipping through the television channels and suddenly hears Morrie’s name. Mitch had not heard from his from professor for years and had not tried to get in touch with the professor, so the news he heard next from the screen was a shock. Morrie Schwartz, his college professor had been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Scierosis or (ALS) an incurable and fatal disease that takes over your nervous system. It is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease after a famous baseball player who fell victim to it.
Tuesdays with Morrie is about the final lesson between a dying professor and an old college student(Mitch), who happens to be the author. Mitch used to be Morries old student in psychology, and reconnects when he sees Morrie in an interview on the show
“Challenges is what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” - Joshua J. Marine. Life is difficult and people need to accept it and in someway every thing in life is a challenge and people need to know how overcome and how live life with those challenges. Morrie teaches people to live life by showing how to accept death, that money isn’t everything, and how to accept aging.
Mitch spends every Tuesday with Morrie not knowing when it might be his dear sociology professor’s last. One line of Morrie’s: “People walk around with a meaningless life…This is because they are doing things wrong” (53) pretty much encapsulates the life lessons from Morrie, Mitch describes in his novel, Tuesdays With Morrie. Morrie Schwartz, a beloved sociology professor at Brandeis University, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), which most people would take as a death sentence. Morrie viewed it differently; he saw it more as an opportunity. This is because he does not follow the so-called “rules” of society. These rules come from the sociological concept of symbolic interaction, the theory that states that an individual’s
"Tuesdays with Morrie" is about an elderly man named Morrie Shwartz diagnosed in his seventies with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Morrie has always lived his life in his own fashion, taking his path less stressful. And continues to do so until his dying day. One of his former students sitting thousands of miles away in Michigan stumbled upon this episode of “Nightline” on the television by chance and most likely by fate. This student, Mitch Album, decides to pay a visit to his favorite tutor in quiet suburb of Boston. As he was a professor of Sociology for many years, Morrie begins again to educate Mitch Album, in, what he calls, his “final thesis.” The old professor and the youthful student meet every Tuesday. As the disease progresses, Morrie shares his opinions on issues such as family, love, emotions, and aging. Although the cover of the book states “an old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson,” but the book actually provides numerous life lessons.
Sogyal Rinpoche stated “When you start preparing for death you soon realize that you must look into your life now...and come to face the truth of yourself. Death is like a mirror in which the true meaning of life is reflected.” Death is imminent. Many people today fear death for various reasons. Some people are able to accept it, where others deny its existence. Some people spend their lives working towards the coming of their death, and their life thereafter, where others spend there lives doing everything they possibly can to make the most of their time on earth. In Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom, the lead character Morrie Schwartz was diagnosed with the fatal disease Lou Gerrig’s Disease, also know as ALS. Although many people would fall into a deep pit of self loathing and regret, Morrie Schwartz took the opportunity to teach people about life and love. He surrounded himself with friends, and loved-ones in his final days. Contrary to Morrie’s attitude, Lear, in William Shakespeare's King Lear, treats death as a negative thing in his life, fearing it, and running from it. Lear spends his last days regretting the things he had done in his life. He wallows in self pity, blaming others for his demise. Lear isolates himself from the people who love him, and fills himself with jealousy towards those who will survive him. Mitch Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie outlines themes of understanding and forgiveness, whereas William Shakespeare's King Lear explores themes of regret and isolation. It is apparent that both texts show the relevance of death and its affect on human behaviour.
Tuesdays with Morrie is an inspiring tale in which Mitch, a young man struggling with the concept of a meaningful life is given a second chance, and a new outlook on life when he meets his past teacher, Morrie. They quickly renew the relationship they once possessed in college. Morrie becomes Mitch’s mentor, role model and friend once again. This time around, however, the lessons are on subjects such as life, love, and culture.
One of the quotes, “learn how to die and you learn to live”, is when Morrie realizes near the end of his life that his perspective of the world changed as his window in life grew smaller (Albom, 1997, p. 82). His view of life transformed into appreciating simple interactions with the people he loved and cherishing the moments of leaving behind a legacy when he accepted death. To me, this quote means to revel in the moment, treasure the present, live memorably, appreciate the people who mean the most to you, and to live life to the fullest. Another quote, “aging is not decay but growth”, is what Morrie was finally able to translate in the final chapters of his life (Albom, 1997, p. 118). Morrie felt a sense of fulfillment of his years in life and savors the time he has remaining as death looms closer. He feels that growing old is not tied in with a negative context of falling apart physically, but about the positive aspects of growing emotionally and spiritually. From my perspective, this quote signifies that the person you are at the end of life is an accumulation of all the years compressed together, continuing to flourish with the knowledge of life’s experiences. Only with personal experiences come wisdom and
Morrie and Mitch’s relationship went far beyond that of a teacher and student. It turned into a friendship between two men. Morrie taught Mitch innumerable lessons about the world, feeling sorry for oneself, regrets, death, family, emotions, fear of aging, money, how love goes on, marriage, culture, forgiveness, and saying good-bye. Morrie never wanted sympathy from Mitch; only an open mind and heart. Morrie discussed his philosophies on life with Mitch and encouraged him to do the same. Morrie shared his strengths and his weaknesses with his student, allowing him to open up to his old professor in a way that would help him to recharge his existing life.
While reading Tuesday with Morrie by Mitch Albom, it is discovered that Professor Morrie Schwartz a genuine humble old man filled with life ends up being dignosed with a fatal disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which targets the neourological system. Slowly losing his range of motion, Morrie tries to continue his life as normal as possible, As he lost his ability to walk without tripping, he purchased a cane to help him get by. When he is unable to undress himself, he finds someone to assist him the locker room so he can change in and out of his swimwear. Morrie is a man that refuses to give, only to find different techniques to get by. Accepting death, Morrie writes aphorisms about accepting life how it is. Inspiring many people with his
Tuesdays with Morrie is a story that made me think more than any other story. Not because it was difficult to comprehend, but it made me think about what the literature meant, how what Morrie said affected Mitch, and how it affected me. Tuesdays with Morrie makes many questions roll through my head like, “Am I living my life the way Morrie tells Mitch? Am I happy with myself? Will I work to make myself happy and achieve my goals in adult life?