Tuesdays with Morrie

Yesterday, we watched this movie in class , called "Tuesdays with Morrie". It is a very inspirational movie. Some of us had our "emotional session" too.

I heard that the story book is more interesting than the movie itself. Perhaps I shall take a look at it when I have the time. *really wonder when will it be*

Okay, now I shall tell you abit about the story:

It is about this man call Morrie who suffered ALS. He is the teacher of Mitch Albom (the author of the book) during his college years. When Mitch caught Morrie on the television, he hesitate whether to call/visit Morrie. It was because he was guilty. He was guilty of not keeping the promise that he made during his college graduation - to keep in touch with Morrie. It has been nearly 20 years since he last contacted Morrie. In the end, he decided to make a trip down to Boston and it changed his life... ...

Every Tuesday visit to Morrie is a new lesson learnt. Every Tuesday is also a HOPE for Morrie. Something that he looks forward to even though he is dying. Because he can still share his life stories and lessons with Mitch......

"When you learn how to die, you learn how to live."

"Death ends a life, not a relationship."

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."

"Love is the only rational act."

"Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too - even when you’re in the dark. Even when you’re falling."

"When you're in bed, you're dead"

"Love wins. Love always wins."

"As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed as ignorant as you were at twenty-two, you'd always be twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it."

"Love each other or perish."

"Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone."

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

In the movie, we can see that although Morrie is dying, he is STILL doing what he likes and devote himself to help Mitch and Janine together. It is also touching to see him sharing the "Meaning of Life". It is also very inspiring to see how consciously Morrie limits the amount of time he spends pitying himself, as he knows he must enjoy the little life he has left. The emphasis of "people worshipping youth" in today society, is also mentioned by Morrie.

It is interesting to see when Mitch ask Morrie about how one can be prepared to die, he response with a buddhist philosophy - Every day, one must ask the bird on his shoulder if that day is the day that he will die. Morrie also mentioned that if one accepts death, he/she will not be as ambition as he is now and that he will be able to see that he must spent time meaningfully and think about "spiritual" development.

Few Tuesdays before his death, Morrie told Mitch that even after his death, Mitch can still visit him on Tuesdays as they are the "Tuesday People" just that Morrie can no longer answer back but assures that he will continue to listen to Mitch when he talk.

Mitch also told a story about wave on the ocean. He said that there was a wave, who felt good about themselves but soon to realize that like any other waves, it would soon crash onto the shore and be destroyed. But another wave tell him not to be afraid as for all the same waves, they are just part of the larger ocean.

Morrie passed away on a Saturday ... ...

This is something worth watching/reading. Perhaps this is also a good time to reflect on our own meaning of life.

(If you want to read a short version of the story, click here.)