Paradox and Inspiration 115: Lessons from Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie, An old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson
by Mitch Albom

"Chase the right things in life, devote yourself to loving others, to the community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

"Find out what’s good and true and beautiful in your life right now. Looking back makes you competitive. And age is not a competitive issue."

"Owning things is good. More money is good. More property is good. More commercialism is good. More is good. More is good. We repeat it – and have it repeated to us – over and over again until nobody bothers to even think otherwise. The average person is so fogged up by all this, he has no perspective on what’s really important anymore."

"You know what really gives you satisfaction? Offering others your time."

"Because I work among the rich and famous, I convinced myself that my needs were realistic, my greed inconsequential compared to theirs. This was a smokescreen."

"Don’t I have enough pain and suffering of my own? Of course I do. But giving to other people is what makes me feel alive. Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you’ll be overwhelmed with what comes back."

"When Morrie was with you, he was really with you. He looked you straight in the eye, and he listened as if you were the only person in the world."

“I believe in being fully present.”

"When someone wants to get ahead of me in the traffic, I would raise my hand, as if I was going to make a negative gesture, and then I would wave and smile. Instead of giving them the finger, you let them go and you smile. A lot of times they smiled back. I don’t have to be in that much of a hurry with my car. I would rather put my energies into people."