Based on his decision not to wither up and die, and instead use his dying, as an opportunity to teach others what truly matters in life,
He would make death his final project, the center point of his days. Since everyone was going to die, he could be of great value, right? He could be
research. A human textbook. Study me in my slow and patient demise. Watch
what happens to me. Learn with me. Morrie would walk that final bridge between life and death, and narrate the trip 10.
It shows how unselfish and positive he really was. Morrie didnt see his
time spent ill as a waste, instead, he said, “I mourn my dwindling time, but I cherish the chance it gives me to make things right 167.”
In March of 1995, when Ted Koppel came to Morrie’s house to covers Morrie for his nightline show, Morrie was in terrible shape that anyone in his
shoes could not endure without being stressful, he was in a wheelchair full-time, and getting used to helpers lifting him like from the chair to the bed and the bed to
the chair. He had begun to cough while eating, and chewing was a chore and his legs were dead.
Yet he refused to be depressed. Instead, Morrie had become a lightning rod of ideas. He jotted down his thoughts on yellow pads, envelopes, folders,
scrap paper. He wrote bite-sized philosophies about living with death’s shadow: “Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do”;
“Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it”; “Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others”; “Don’t assume that it’s too late to
get involved 18.”
4.1.2 Wise
Morrie is living his life through the way of wisdom, almost in every aspect of life. He said about the culture that The culture we have does not make people
feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesnt work, dont buy it 42. This passage tells Mitch and the reader
that they have to do what makes them happy without worrying what everyone thinks is right. It underscores the theme because in order to figure out the meaning
of life and make every minute count, you have to know what makes you happy. If you do not know what makes you happy then you arent going to make every
minute of your life count unless you spend every minute of your life doing something that is pointless or makes you sad.
Morrie speaks these words of advice to Mitch during their eleventh Tuesday together, when they talk specifically about culture.
“Take my condition. The things I am supposed to be embarrassed about now — not being able to walk, not being able to wipe my ass, waking up
some mornings wanting to cry — there is nothing innately embarrassing about them. Its the same for women not being thin enough, or men not
being rich enough. Its just what our culture would have you believe. Dont believe it 155”.
Gradually, Morrie has come to accept his physical handicaps, just as he
has come to accept his approaching death. He complains that the culture is wrong to think natural physical need as socially embarrassing, and thus he refuses to
believe that his handicaps are shameful. In rejecting the values of the popular culture, Morrie creates his own set of way of life, which put up the physical
shortcomings popular culture finds pitiable and embarrassing. As Morrie sees it, popular culture is a dictator under which the human community must suffer. He
has already suffered enough from his disease, and does not see why he should seek social acceptance if it is not conducive to his personal happiness. Throughout
the book, popular culture is portrayed as a vast brainwashing machine, wiping
clean the minds of the public, and replacing the inherent kindness they posses at birth with a ruthless greed and selfish focus.
Morrie thinks a meaningful life will not be found in the best job or how much wealth you earned. The way you get meaning in your life is to devote
yourself to help others and create something that gives you purpose, “Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won’t be dissatisfied, you
won’t be envious, you won’t be longing for somebody else’s things. On the contrary, you’ll be overwhelmed with what comes back 128.” Morrie tells us to
share other what we have to give and it will become meaningful things, meaningful is not always about the value and price, but a gift from the heart that
makes everything we offer is meaningful for other. All that material thing won’t satisfy you because it is not merely the thing you really needed as Morrie said:
“Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you, as Im sitting here dying, when you most need it,
neither money nor power will give you the feelings you are looking for, no matter how much of them you have 125”.
Our grief for money and power will get us nowhere, but it is what our culture influences us to do and to be. Morrie think logically that money and power
you have do not anything in the community, people at the top who have more power would still look down on you and people at the bottom will only envy on
what you have. Only a passion in loving other will make you equally float around different people.
“If you’re trying to show off for people at the top, forget it. They will look down at you anyhow. And if you’re trying to show off for people at the
bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone
127.”
Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live 81. Morrie said this
during the fourth Tuesday when he and Mitch discuss death. Morrie feels that people refuse to believe that they will one day die, and therefore, do not live their
lives as fully as they would have liked and also have many regrets as they become older and their death becomes closer. He feels that once we learn and accept that
we are one day going to die, we learn to live our lives fully and without any regrets. Morrie emphasize how important and helpful it is to accept death, and
what a benefit it would be to living the remainder of our lives. Morrie also wants Mitch to see how he is able to appreciate the smaller, more genuine things in life,
knowing that his death is approaching.
Morrie said that he don’t want to remain young like most people do. He want to embrace aging, because by aging people could learn more to live a better
life.
As you grow old, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, youd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay,
you know. Its growth. Its more than the negative that youre going to die, its also the positive that you understand youre going to die, and that you
live a better life because of it 118.
Morrie says this during the seventh Tuesday where he and Mitch talk about the fear of aging. Morrie does not accept today’s culture and emphasis on
youth. He is aware that being young can be quite a misery. Especially being a teacher, he saw many young people and their struggles, their feelings of
insufficiency and the lack of purpose they felt in life. He feels that the young are also not very wise because they have little understanding about life. This is why
he enjoys aging. Aging is not just decay...Its growth 118. Morrie embraces aging because he sees it as an opportunity to learn more. He explained that
contrary to many people’s fear, he does not want to remain young because he would always be as ignorant as he once was at a young age. He feels that once
people have found meaning in their lives, they never want to go back and be young again. He feels that if your life has meaning you will want to progress
forward with age by doing more things, seeing more and learning more to appreciate life given. If youre always battling against getting older, youre
always going to be unhappy, because it will happen anyhow 118.” Everything in this world is impermanent and aging is a valuable progress. It is good being young
but it is better to grow and to grow needs time. “You have to find what’s good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive.
And, age is not a competitive issue 120.”
4.1.3 Loving
