Live Life, Trust Others, Do Good: Lessons from Tuesdays with Morrie

Krista and I have gotten into the habit of reading to each other at nights as an activity that de-stresses us and gives us the opportunity to spend time together and analyze a book together. The most recent book that we are going through at the moment is Tuesdays with Morrie. For those of you who haven’t read it, it is a FANTASTIC book. It really puts a different perspective on things and how thinking positively can really shift your attitude. It also just shows how much we need to appreciate in life and how we need to live each day to the fullest and to know that we’ve done our best. The following are a few quotes from the books that have really inspired me at the moment. To summarize the three main ideas from these quotes are Live Life, Trust Others and Do Good.

Live Life

“Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live”

This is such a powerful thought because the one limiting factor in our lives is fear. We have fear everyday. Fear of disappointing others. Fear of things that are coming up. But most notably the fear of dying. We all know that it is coming but we all try our best to hide that and keep living. The perspective in the book gives you a completely different view. “Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”

By knowing that death is coming and accepting that fact, you will begin to notice many more things in life. Perhaps it’s just the simple things when you actually let silence dominate for awhile. You’ll begin to notice the smallest sound. Maybe the ticking of a clock. Maybe a bug buzzing around. These are things that you would hardly notice if you were just going on with your busy life. I honestly think that’s the beauty in life. Being able to see all of God’s creations and how things live in harmony with each other. That in itself is beautiful. How powerful is it to get to a state where you can see and recognize these things. That’s why the quote is so powerful in that it shows only when we’re in the right state of mind can we really live.

Trust Others

“You closed your eyes. That was the difference. 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 are in the dark. Even when you’re falling.”

How often do we go through life rationalizing every single thing that happens. In a previous blog entry I talked about the need to sometimes just let things go and believe that God will get you through it. I’ve always been a strong believer in whatever is meant to happen will happen no matter what you do. Isn’t this quote from Tuesdays with Morrie the epitome of faith? We don’t go around everyday seeing God in the way that we want to. Yes he is in everyday life and in everything but sometimes we want to make that connection that he’s physically there. Sometimes you just have to believe with all your heart that he is there and that everything will work out.

It’s the same way with friends as well. Your true friends and most importantly your family will always be there no matter what. You could feel like you’re all alone and failing at everything but friends and family will always get you our of your funk. You must trust that people will be there to catch you when you are at your worst. You know why they will be? It’s because everyone has people that care for them. No matter how long it’s been since you’ve seen friends and family, they will always be there for you and you should always trust that will happen.

Do Good

“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.”

How many people do you know in your life are unhappy with their current position? How many don’t like their jobs? How many don’t feel like they have enough meaning in their life? It seems that especially in our society everyone is indeed half asleep and pursuing what they think is happiness as defined by others. I’m a strong believer that happiness is genuinely something that comes from within and it’s not an easy thing to maintain. You have to constantly work on being a good person and having a positive attitude in order to find meaning in life. This can be done in several ways whether it’s overall changing your attitude so that everything is more positive or maybe even quitting your job to pursue your passion. You get what you put into this life. If you push for your dreams you may not always get what you wanted but maybe it opens up other opportunities or teaches you valuable life lessons.

This quote really tells us to reevaluate who we are and what we want to accomplish. Do good in life. Do it for yourself, for your family and most importantly for people all around you in general.

These three quotes from the book Tuesdays with Morrie are just a small portion of the pure greatness of the book. There are many spots that teach great lessons and really make you think. I suggest that if you haven’t picked up the book or read it to do it today. Keep an open mind and try to take some of these lessons to heart. If only we can learn to live everyday to the fullest, have full trust that things will be ok and devote yourself fully to passions or bettering those around you, then we can really and truly say that we’ve lived life!

Sincerely,
The Lermz