Letting Go (Reflections by Morrie Schwartz)

If you are a lover of books, you have probably encountered an inspirational one entitled Tuesdays With Morrie written by Mitch Albom.  It’s a moving account of courage and wisdom shared by a mentor to one of his students. A simple but profound book about an old man, a young man and life’s greatest lesson.  Morrie Schwartz is the old man here diagnosed with ALS (Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis) commonly known as motor neurone disease.  Mitch Albom was his student.  Morrie wrote his own book Letting Go, a book which offers his own philosophy in life, inspiring lessons and practical advice to help those who have terminal or chronic illness and anyone close to them.  My daughter and I were able  to buy a copy of Morris’ book four years ago.  And I am quoting some of his remarkable reflections on living while dying.

– Don’t stay preoccupied with your body or your illness.  Recognize that your body is not your total self, only part of it.

– Watch for emotional, spiritual, or behavioral regressions when you are most vulnerable.  Try to avoid, minimize or stop your regression.

– When you are utterly frustrated or angry, express your feelings.  You don’t have to be nice all the time – just most of the time.

– Try to develop an inner emotional or spiritual peace to balance the distresses of your body.  You might begin by learning to accept “what is” for you at any particular time.

-If you find yourself fantasizing that you are no longer sick and have been restored to your previous level of functioning, stay with the fantasy as long as it gives you pleasure.  But return to reality when the fantasy becomes painful or when it is otherwise necessary for you to do so.

– Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others. Forgiveness can soften the heart, drain the bitterness and dissolve your guilt.

– Learn how to live and you’ll know how to die, learn how to die and you’ll know how to live.

Reading his book is also a learning experience.

(So lazy to write a new blog post so I am sharing one of those I wrote when I was starting at WordPress back in 2009.)

Advertisement