Interpersonal Communication
Sahar Herbol
December 5, 2010
“When you learn how to die, you learn how to live" (83). After reading those words in “Tuesdays With Morrie” by Mitch Albom, I knew I was going to learn something new, something big, coming from Morrie Schwartz. I tried to pin point the exact theme of the book, and all I could come up with was “when you learn how to die, you learn how to live”. I tried understanding the logic behind those words, and all I could come up with is dying must be the only conclusion to being alive. You must live your life to the fullest in order to learn how to live. Morrie knows he is dying and within this book, he teaches those around him how to accept his death, and teaches them how to live.
People walk around thinking that they are untouchable, or even if you must say, immortal. Most people don’t realize that at any moment the unthinkable can happen. Personally, I’m scared of the concept of “death” and I don’t think I will ever really accept death because for me I am scared of not knowing what happens next. Instead of accepting it, us as a society mostly ride it off and for that, our eyes are closed. Morrie on the other hand is a positive man with his eyes opens and takes each day while being positive. In the book, Morrie says we live life sleepwalking, never fully awake or aware, and it’s sad but there is a very high percent of people who live life that way. As I read in an article called, “Are you sleepwalking your life away”, they state that “sleepwalkers are people who live through their lives in an unconsciousness state. It is not just about being physically awake – Many people around us are awake, yet living unconsciously. They are not fully aware of who they are, the larger context of life they are a part of and their real purpose in life. The shocking thing is that if tomorrow was the day that they were told they had so much time left, is when the little things wouldn’t matter
Cited: Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie: an old man, a young man, and life 's greatest lesson. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Print. Albom, Mitch. "Mitch Albom.com - Tuesdays With Morrie." Welcome To Mitch Albom. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. <http://mitchalbom.com/books/node/3856>. Begley, Sharon. "Money & Happiness - Newsweek." Newsweek - National News, World News, Business, Health, Technology, Entertainment, and more - Newsweek. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. <http://www.newsweek.com/2007/10/14/why-money-doesn-t-buy-happiness.html>. Bowen, Stephanie. "Books Reviews Tuesdays with Morrie - CNN." Featured Articles from CNN. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. <http://articles.cnn.com/1998-05-07/entertainment/reviews_9805_06_1_disease-insight-professor?_s=PM:books>. Campuzano, Ivan . "How To Stop Wasting My Life | The Extraordinary Self Development Blog | IvanCampuzano.com." The Extraordinary Self Development Blog | IvanCampuzano.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. <http://ivancampuzano.com/are-you-sleepwalking-your-life-away/>. Davidson, Arden. "Plot summary: Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom - by Arden Davidson - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. <http://www.helium.com/items/1547320-tuesdays-with-morrie-plot-summary>. Dunn, Miriam. "Plot summary: Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom - by Miriam Dunn - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. <http://www.helium.com/items/1860675-tuesdays-with-morrie-book-review-mitch-ablom>. Face (sociological concept) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_%28sociological_con. "Interview: 'Tuesdays With Morrie, ' Part 1 - ABC News." ABCNews.com - ABCNews.com: Breaking News, Politics, World News, Good Morning America, Exclusive Interviews - ABC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. <http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/interview-tuesdays-morrie-part-9084429>. What is ALS - The ALS Association." Welcome - The ALS Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. <http://www.alsa.org/als/what.cfm>.