Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

One should never underestimate the power of a good book. Books have the ability to help you discover your inner self. If you like books that force you to think about life and yourself, Tuesdays with Morrie is the book for you. Tuesdays with Morrie is my absolute favorite book. It is a memoir written by author Mitch Albom describing what his sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz taught him while he was slowly dying of ALS.

Here is a list of all the lessons I learnt from the book for which I will be forever grateful:

• Stop feeling sorry for yourself: There are moments in our lives when everything seems to be out of control. During these moments we think about everything we have lost. However, Morrie taught me that it is okay to feel sorry for yourself but you must not focus on the bad part only. You should be grateful for everything good in your life especially during those low moments. Self-pity and loathing can rob you of everything good that’s going on.
• Regrets: Regrets are a bigger part of our life than we admit. Spending your days thinking that if you did something differently your life would have been better now. These regrets have the capacity to eat you alive. If you stay hung up on the past mistakes, how will you ever have a better future. We are taught about forgiving others all our lives but why is forgiving so hard when it comes to forgiving ourselves. You must not torture yourself for a decision that could have gone either way. We cannot change our past because somethings are just out of our control. The healthy thing to do is move on and hope for a better future.
• Death: “Learn how to die, and you learn how to live”, haven’t heard more accurate words. No one appreciates life like a person who is on their deathbed. They appreciate the little things in life that people generally take for granted.
• Feel your emotions: Many a times we have these emotions that we aren’t able to let go. What I learnt is you should give yourself the freedom to feel them and have a good cry about it. Don’t let your emotions control you. As Morrie said, “Turn on the faucet. Wash yourself with emotions”.
• Learn to Detach: This lesson is a bit complicated. It is about letting go and more. Morrie said that in order to let go of something, first you need to fully accept it. You need to let that experience, that emotion penetrate you and them you can detach yourself from it. If you don’t let yourself feel, you would never be able to let go because you would be nothing but afraid. Once you have felt it all, you would know that you need to detach yourself from that fear. Just step away.
• Greed for Money: Since childhood we are taught that money cannot buy happiness but as we grow up we have learnt that buying things can bring you happiness but there is a catch. The happiness you feel is temporary. You use money to compensate for the love you never received. There is a difference between what we need and what we want. We must learn to separate the two. How much ever money you spend, you would never be able to receive the satisfaction you want because you would find yourself wanting more and more. And to be perfectly honest it is not entirely our fault because this is what we have been taught, “More is good”. In the words of Morrie, “Money is not a substitute for tenderness”. You must devote yourself to helping other people that is what would bring you real joy because only a life lived for someone is a life lived worthwhile.
• Love: They say that people are never really gone, they stay alive in our hearts and it is absolutely true. Love is what keeps them alive always and forever.
• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is tough. Whether it’s forgiving others or your own self, sometimes you just can’t gather the strength to wipe the slate clean. And yes I wrote ‘strength’. It takes a lot of courage to be the bigger man, to forget every exploitation and to move on. Morrie narrated a story where he and his friend had a falling out and how he regretted not giving him another chance before he died of cancer. Vengeance and pride can destroy you. These emotions are too heavy to be carried throughout your life. You need to make peace with everyone around you and then forgive yourself for everything you did wrong and everything you regret you didn’t do at all. Forgive those who hurt you and have the peace of mind you longed for before it’s too late.

One book, so many extraordinary lessons. Using any kind of adjective to describe this book would be an understatement. These kinds of books must be read, they must be felt and must be carried throughout life. That is the power of an exceptional book. I suggest you hurry and buy yourself a copy today.

Enjoy!!