The Lessons of Love: A Message from A Wanderer
Today, I finished Tuesday with Morrie by Mitch Albom, when it ended I gave myself 10 minutes to cry like a baby before I moved on and completed 30 minutes of jumping rope in the sun. If you haven’t read the book it’s the biography of Morrie Schwartz, a loved college professor living a good life then found out he had polio. His favorite student who hasn’t seen him in 16 years finds out he has the disease, and flies from Detroit to Massachusetts every Tuesday just to spend his last days with him. A very romantic heartfelt story.
I’m not going to go through the specifics, you can read it yourself for the details. Naturally, I got to thinking about life and death. Specifically mine and what it has become. I asked that God continue to send me signs that I am doing the right thing while on the right path. He does, often.
The fact of the matter is we can all be doing more, for our families, our communities, and even ourselves. However, the truth is we make the heaviest impact within ourselves. If as individuals we become the best people we can be, that energy pours into our communities and projects through our families. We, individually, are our community's biggest influence. Without high regard for self, everything around us crumbs.
Well, that’s what I believe the book was saying. Morrie had this phrase he stated throughout the book that I believe he wanted to burn into the reader's minds, “love each other or die”. I took that as, love, true love is all we have to give to this world. Why waste the only gift we have dictating who gets it?
Not in an overly ridiculous way to be naive or be used by others, but every time showing up as our best self and offering the only thing that matters, your presence, listening ear, no judgment, and compassion. True love!
Morrie was so gracious and gentle with himself through dying. Turning a very sad situation into a life lesson for millions to read. He said, “If you learn how to die you learn how to live”. I, like the author, felt slightly confused by the statement, and by the end of the story it all made sense. Living is dying, but not in the way that we think. It‘s about making every single day an experience that makes YOU proud and makes YOU feel like “I lived today”. I discovered this when Morrie was asked what he would do if he had one healthy day to enjoy and experience life. His answer was a very average day, he wanted to do the things he loved with the people he loved, doing activities that made him feel alive.
How beautiful is that?, creating a life so peaceful, content, and loving that while dying the last healthiest day would be dedicated to creating a space to just fucking live, simple. No extravagant trips across the world, no shopping sprees, or material things, just a simple day to spread love, be love, and consume love, organically. Now, of course, this got me thinking deeply about what true love is. Maybe that’s to be saved for a different day because love is such a deep topic, but here.
Our lives are meant to explore the depths of people, to touch everyone we come in contact with to be a portal for them to seek deeper love for themselves. Whether that love comes from themselves or the connection with the people around them. Love will always outshine the darkness in the world. Give your whole heart without shame!
For myself, this confirms my need to wander, to explore the depths of this world through people, things, and environments that give me the space to adventure into new activities and unknown territory. It’s given me the space to seek my advisors and teachers who help me navigate through uncharted areas in fear, yet rise to every occasion to learn and spread what I do know. Not only that but to be trusted to be a vessel of wisdom and true love.
Reading about Morrie’s life was reading about my life. Reading about my life is reading about yours, which sets your sail into this world to discover yourself in love. And when the self is in love, it’s projected out into this world. We all, then feel the effects of learning how to die is teaching us how to live. When we learn how to live through love we learn to love others or die.
Thank you, Mr. Schwartz. Thank you so much for reading. I love you all so much!!!
