Saturday, August 11, 2012

Book Review - Tuedays with Morrie (reposted from Multiply.com)


Since I can no longer keep my blog in Multiply.com, I'll be moving more items from there before the deadline in December 2012.  Here's the 1st of my book reviews.

Tuesdays with Morrie
-Mitch Albom

"The tension of opposites – life is a series of pulls back and forth.  You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else" 

You must be wondering why I am writing this book review in this blog page rather than the review box.  I am fully aware, that's why.  For me, this book is like the book of life.  Like the scriptures which instructs you on living.  I can't put a value on it, because I think it's priceless.  I can't rate it because there are not enough available stars in the review page to justify this book.  It says a lot about life, about love, about living and life's real meanings and then about dying, within its two hundred odd pages. 

Pretty small book, but it packs a wallop big enough for me to go back through it again to review the finer points, trying to remember those words which are so common-place, yet we by-pass them all the time while we go through our daily lives chasing after the wrong things.  We simply, through ignorance,  or choose to ignore those things that really matter in life, and we keep wondering why we can't contain our greed for more; the better jobs, better looks, higher positions, newer cars, the bigger houses... We try to maintain our looks to remain young even as age catches up on us, which is rather futile as in the end it doesn't really matter.  And who knows when is The End?  It could be tomorrow...

This book says a great lot about dying.  In fact, it's mostly about dying.  "Death ends a life, not a relationship".

It explains in story form, why most of us are leading unfulfilled, meaningless lives although outwardly, we are rich, successful, active in community, sports, etc.  There are so many truisms scattered throughout this little book and since they're not listed as in "10-golden-rules" style you'll have to read it through to find them....

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Now, then...you're confused or am I amnesic?  I wrote the first part of this review right after I finished reading the book.  So, don't blame me for being so absorbed that I was thinking like Professor Morrie Schwartz (he's a dying man anyway).  But then, as Professor in Sociology, Morrie was a very good teacher.  This story is written by his favorite student who, years after leaving the college and having gone through the rat race, suddenly find himself being drawn back into the life of his former teacher.  Eventually, he submitted himself to return for a final lesson which turned his life around and gave it a whole new meaning. 

I tend to get very involved in such life-related arguments.  But 24 hours later after all that "illusion's" worn off, I'm back to my old self again.  Now that I'm back in reality, I'm seeing life from both sides again.  I'm back to my practical self.  So now I can rate this book as top of the reading list for anyone with a zest for life.  Hence, I've decided to put this write-up in its rightful place – the reviews page. 

From me, this is my point of view to keep life in its eternal cycle:  Pursue your dreams but stay in touch with all those who make your life and dreams possible.  And remember those golden rules.  They're not there just to make others happy; they're there to set equilibrium to your life as well, without which you're like a ship without a rudder, sailing without a destination.

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