What death can not conquer….
“You appear to be in a pensive mood” Lulu, the parrot, said settling down on my shoulder. “You must have read something in the book which you are holding, and it must have set you thinking”.
“I know you can take a bird’s eye view of anything easily, it comes so naturally to you, but I never knew you could peep into my mind so easily” I continued, “Yes, you are right. This little story in the book set me thinking”.
“Share it with me then…”
“Yes, of course. Let me read it out to you…..
Many magnificent moral moments come from our life experiences, especially the experience of suffering, and most especially, the experience of those who are in the process of dying. There are many such moments in ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’, Mitch Albom’s conversations with his old teacher.
….The fact that we are all going to die brings us face to face with questions about the meaning and purpose of our life. Death and dying are our teachers. They ask us to question our values and our commitments. The following exchange between Mirch and [his old teacher] Morrie touched me deeply:
He asked to see the hibiscus plant on the ledge behind him. I cupped it in my hand and held it near his eyes. He smiled.
“It’s natural to die,” he said again. “The fact that we make such a big hullabaloo over it is all because we don’t see ourselves as part of the nature. We think we’re human because we’re something above nature.”
He smiled at the plant.
“We’re not. Everything that gets born, dies.” He looked at me.
“Do you accept that?”
“Yes.”
“All right,” he whispered, “now here’s the payoff. Here is how we are different from those wonderful plants and animals.
“As long as we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still there. You live on – in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here…..”
“Death ends a life, not a relationship.”
“Hmmmm…Very insightful,” Lulu said “Death ends a life, not a relationship!” Now it was Lulu’s turn to fall in deep thinking!
“What’s happening?’ I enquired “What are you thinking, Lulu?”
“Yesterday you spoke to me about the movie ‘The Bucket List.’ It shows its protagonist making a list of things he wishes to do before he ‘kicked the bucket’.”
“So?”
“I am now tearing off my Bucket List and making a new one, it must focus on building relationships!” Lulu said while flying away.
Vivek
It is a very thoughtful post..
Reminds me of the sunset being just as beautiful as the sunrise !
Living might not be as worthwhile if we don't take care of what really matters..& I think mostly they are the simplest of things. Thank You for reminding us of them !
That was one the most insightful books that i have ever read !
And it reduced me to tears at first..and then deep reflection many days later…with a feeling of peace.
Thanks for sharing!! The most insightful book i have ever read, after reading your post i am going to read it again..
and yes the bucket list is superb.. i just watched it yesterday and my list is in making!! Good luck for your list!!
This is much a great post and is so true – you just caught my thoughts and mood exactly – and you also reminded me of something which I need to do.
Thank you for posting it.
Cheers to you and yours, Kate x.
I was very moved by this book when I read it. I think the author describes it as "the last class" of his professor. And attending it, he learns the meaning of life…
Thanks for reminding us through this post!
I heard about this book, but didn't know anything about its content. Thank you for this beautiful introduction to the book.