Morrie's Influence On Life

The story of Morrie 's life, made me choose to live life like it is my last day on the planet. One quote Morrie said that caught my eye is, “once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” (pg. 82) Meaning, once you accept your destiny, you finally learn how to be in the moment. For me, I am someone who has trouble living in the moment. I tend to either think about the past too much, or I think about the future. I learned from Morrie, if you accept the end, you will accept everything you receive. Morrie, was someone who was very good with words, who once said, “Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning” (p. 127) In life, you

We as citizens of the United States, appreciate helping others in this world. We donate money, time, supplies, our love, to help create something new. To help change someone 's life for the better. My grandfather, whom I call Tom, has spent all of his adult years dedicating all of his time on a nonprofit company called IMEC America. They donate old hospital supplies all over the world to countries in need. He is someone I look up to, and has influenced my life in many ways, and has shown me that even no matter what you do in life, even if it does not benefit you, it can change your life in such a positive way. One thing Morrie said that had a lot of impact on me was, “The truth is, when our mothers held us, rocked us, stocked our heads-none of us ever got enough of that. We all yearn for some way to return to those days when we were completely taken care of-unconditional love, unconditional attention. Most of us didn’t get enough.” (p.116) When I was growing up, all my parents could think about was when they were going to get their next drink or next high. I was cared for sure, but I could tell you, they were never just in the moment

I am still embarrassed to this day about that. When I look back at my childhood, I wish my parents had paid more attention. I wish my dad didn’t work sixty-five plus hours a week. I for sure wish I was paid attention to for a little bit longer. As Morrie once said, “Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness.” (pg. 125) I honestly wish I could yell this to my father a lot. My family owns a business, a pizza shop. It started off with my Papou, and his two sons, my dad and my uncle, and then once my Papou got too old, my dad and uncle took over. It has been in the family for over 35 years, however, the business has affected both of their marriages. Both of them were divorced because of how much they work, which impact my life, along with my brothers. Since my dad works more than 65 hours a week, I never see him, and money is not more important than love, and power, is not more important than family. Money doesn 't buy you happiness, and I just wish for once my father would understand this. Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom taught me how to just be happy with life as it is, treat every day like it is my last, and just be prepared for whatever is thrown