tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesdays hold a special place for me. In kannaDa Tuesday is called as "mangaLa vaara" which od course is named after the planet Mars. But could also mean auspicious day. But one is never allowed to do anything new on that day...As in you can't start a new job, join school, move into a house you know that sort of thing. It always annoyed me, so very typically I did start everything on Tuesdays. All my first days at jobs were on a Tuesday (unless my boss had a problem), I started courses on that day...you get the drift. So when RVK & A suggested "tuesdays with Morrie" I was instantly taken in.

At the face of it, it could seem like a book about the general gyan we all know- "Don't run after money", or "live in now" or "don't be afraid of loving someone." But what makes this book special is that it comes from a man who lived life, just the way he wanted and still thought he could've done it better in the face of death.

The book reaffirmed many of my own beliefs, which have been rejected so many times that I sometimes wonder about them. The book also made me yearn for that one mentor who could hold your hand and guide you...I never had one...not like Morrie anyway. But it also made kinda decide that I should try and be one to someone at some point of time. People always need each other.

I loved the way Morrie taught people without being all preachy (I do a bad job of this). I loved his simple but so true to the last letter aphorisms he came up with. These are my favourites

1) Love each other or perish.
2) Once you know how to die, you know how to live.
3) You're not a wave, you're part of the ocean.
4) Dying is one thing to be sad about, living unhappily is another thing.
5) The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it.

Very powerful words those are.

Morrie Schwartz was no figment of imagination, he walked this planet just like you & me; only difference being he savoured it all, and decided to share his understanding with the world through his student Mitch Albom. On a slightly editorial note, I kinda wished that it was written better...something kept bothering me and I can't put my finger on it. But with a powerful character like Morrie, it doesn't matter I suppose. They made a television movie based on this book too.

I love Tuesdays all the more!

My rating 3.5 on 5