October 30, 2014
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom – Quotes
Quotes
Explanation
“You see, . . . 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 people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too — even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling.” (Mitch Albom 47)
Morrie says this to his class in a flash back during the second Tuesday. He has asked his class to perform a trust fall exercise where students fall and trust another student to catch them. Not one student can trust another until one girl falls without flinching. Morrie notes that the girl had closed her eyes, explaining that one must sometimes trust blindly, relying only on what they feel to guide them in their decision-making. He uses the exercise to teach his students that trustworthiness is a quality shared by two people in a partnership, and that each person takes a risk in trusting the other.
“Take my condition. The things I am supposed to be embarrassed about now — not being able to walk, not being able to wipe my a**, waking up some mornings wanting to cry — there is nothing innately embarrassing about them. It's the same for women not being thin enough, or men not being rich enough. It's just what our culture would have you believe. Don't believe it.” (Mitch Albom 56)
Morrie tells this to Mitch during their eleventh Tuesday together, when they talk about culture. Morrie has gradually come to accept his physical handicaps, just as he has come to accept his upcoming death. He complains that the culture is wrong to deem natural physical need as socially embarrassing, and he refuses to believe that his handicaps are shameful. As Morrie sees it, popular culture is an evil master under which the human community must suffer. Morrie teaches that we need to disregard what people think, and worry about ourselves.
“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.” (Mitch Albom 118)
Morrie says this to Mitch on their seventh Tuesday together, when they discuss the fear of aging. Morrie tells Mitch that the happiness of youth a myth, as not only do young people suffer very real problems, but they do not have the wisdom of age to deal with them. Morrie has never feared aging, he embraced it. In accepting his own death, Morrie is able to savor the little time he has left to live, instead of wasting away, frustrated and angry that his time on earth is going to end soon.
The truth is . . . once you learn how to die, you learn how to live. (Mitch Albom 82)
Morrie says this on the fourth Tuesday in response to Mitch's question about how one can prepare for death. When he tells Mitch that one must know how to die before one can know how to live, he means that one must accept the possibility of their own death before they can truly appreciate what they have on earth, and use every moment of that time doing something that they will not regret when they die.
After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not move quickly enough. No more playing music at half-empty night clubs. No more writing songs in my apartment, songs that no one would hear. (Mitch Albom 199)
Upon the untimely death of his favorite uncle, Mitch's outlook on life is forever changed. He suddenly feels that the time is precious, and is compelled to live his life to its fullest potential, which, at the time, he believes is the achievement of financial success. It is clear that Mitch feels disconnected with the young man he once was, but desperately wants to reestablish a connection with his former dreams and values.
"You closed your eyes. That
