My long overdue "Tuesdays with Morrie" post

Greetings again,

Now that I'm feeling a lot better, I'm able to get around to the posts that I've been meaning to share for a long time, but never did.  This one is about how the book, "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom got me through the worst of times.  My husband received the book as a gift from his Mom years ago and I never allowed myself to read it because I knew it had a sad ending and I already had too many sad things happening in my life. Once I finally read it, I dog-eared the heck out of it and now I keep it on my nightstand next to a small book of Bible passages for those moments when I need inspiration and strength the most. For those who never read the book, it is a true story about Mitch Albom's visits with his dying college professor who served as a mentor to him back in college, and then again as he was dying to share lessons on life itself.  I humbly admit that I can't adequately summarize the power of the messages within the book, but I want to share some of the quotes that pulled me through the days when I was absolutely paralyzed with pain.  And dear lord, I hope I'm not breaking some kind of copyright law by sharing my thoughts on this little blog of mine...

"I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all of the good things in life"

"Everyone knows they're going to die...but no one believes it. If we did, we would do things differently"

On aging:  "You have to find what's good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive. And, age is not a competitive issue".   (This one really helped me to accept that I can't go back to the time when I was 24, newly married and completely healthy, and I was finally able to find the joy in my life during the worst of the pain)

On living a meaningful life:  "Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."  He later notes that money is not a part of a meaningful life. 

If you don't own this book: Buy it. Read it. Live it. 

We'll all be better for it.
-S