Inspiring read

A few months ago, I was looking through my parents collection of books for something to read. I have read most of the books I have and most the books they have, so it was getting a little discouraging finding something that I haven't read already. But then I found "Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson" by Mitch Albom. This was a fairly new book (well, new for their collection) that my mom had picked up at the DI. It sounded interesting. It was a very easy read. And I loved it. It's about the author, going back and reconnecting with an old professor and mentor from his college days. Who is now very ill and is dying. The book is a result of his visits and discussions with his old friend. Very good and inspirational, but simple. I highly recommend it. I found a lot of quotes from that book that really struck me. So I though I would share them here. All said by Morrie Schwartz.



"The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn't the family.....If you don't have the support and love and caring concern that you get from a family, you don't have much at all."

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."

"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live"

"There are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike."

"Death ends a life, not a relationship."

This last one I don't know if it was said by Morrie Schwartz himself, but the story was told in the book and I really liked it. It talks about how we are all part of "The bigger picture" and that we all are important and matter. At least that is one way I understand it.
             There is a little wave, bopping along in the ocean, having a grand old time. He's enjoying the wind and the fresh air - until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore.
'My God, this is terrible,' the wave says. 'Look what's going to happen to me!' Then along came another wave. It sees the first wave, looking grim, and it says to him, 'Why do you look so sad?' The first wave says, ' You don't understand! We're all going to crash! All of us waves are going to be nothing! Isn't it terrible?' The second wave says 'No, you don't understand. You're not a wave, you're part of the ocean.'