"Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

The closer Morries gets to good-bye, the more he feels we are all creatures in the same forest. What we take we must replenish, "It's only fair." "We all have the same beginning birth, and we have have the same ending, death."

Morrie believes so many of us walk around with meaningless lives. We do things automatically thinking these are the things we are suppose to be doing, things we think are important to us. Our culture is so wrapped up with egotistical things like, our careers, family, making enough money, meeting the mortgage, getting a new car, or being so involved in the trillions of other projects that we don't "STOP," take the time to stand back and take a look around. "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."

I found so many similarities with this reading and the reading of "Measuring Success," by Renee Loth. We have become so occupied with wanting what we think society thinks we should have. Loth say's, "The struggling and searching for things we want or do in our lives, keeps us in a permanent state of wanting, always reaching for more.

They say life is what you make it, so why are we so blinded to see what is right in front of us? Because our society pushes this need to want and have more upon us. This isn't to say, chasing your dreams or reaching for your goals is wrong, we're just missing the big picture.

Morries says, "Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do"; "Accept the past as past, and without denying it or discarding it"; "Learn to forgive yourself and forgive others"; Don't assume that it's too late to get involved. He also say's, "The way you get the meaning of 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." Get connected, volunteer at your local food bank, get to know your neighbor's and if their elderly, ask to rake their yard full of leaves. Stop, look around you, take a deep breath, smell the fresh air, Take a hike around your beautiful mountain range. You will find that all we really need we already have as  Loth say's "The moment is all we really have."

Love what you do, love who you are, embrace the joy and love you have for your family, friends, and beautiful surroundings. We are the meaning of life. Morrie say's "Love wins, love always wins."

I enjoyed Tuesday's with Morrie because it has taught me not to what for the last minute , like dying to see all the beautiful things around me and the beautiful things I have. My 3 son's, my grandchildren, my friends. It has also taught me to spend as much time as I can with my 85 year old father, even if it means having to hear the same story over and over again. I  now know he won't be here someday to even tell me a story. As Morrie say's again, "Maybe death is the great equalizer, the one thing that can finally make strangers shed a tear for one another." Compassion, Love, Forgiveness and Acceptance.
RIP Morrie