Mitch Alborn is a sports columnist with a national newspaper in America. His International Bestseller Tuesdays With Morrie is his journey of going back in his life, connecting with his roots and trying to understand the meaning of life.
When I say going back, he reconnects with an old professor who is dying of an incurable disease. The professor had always been a special one to him. But after college, like everyone else Mitch was too engrossed in his own life – and by life it more or less narrows down to career and making money. Rest of the things are secondary in life unfortunately for most of us.
While surfing channels he comes across an interview with an old professor of his from college who is dying and has come to terms with it. After watching the interview he decides to pay him a visit as well and then begins his last thesis.
Even on his death-bed his professor is more than eager to leave back his legacy – his last words which give the meaning of life. Although most places the book talks more about death than about life. Death is a reality and we all have to face it some day. But one can’t really live waiting for that day. Morrie believes that if people accept the fact that they are going to die and it could be any normal day then they could learn to be a little too human.
In our life we give importance to materialistic things. We spend most of our lives trying to acquire things – which after we are gone would have no purpose. But we torture ourselves to earn that extra buck. To make a little more. We stay put in bad jobs, work with people we don’t respect, have friends we don’t like or have relationships with people we don’t really care about – just because society says it is right to do those things.
We also give undue importance to our external appearance and do not care about our internal self. It is indeed more important to be a better person than just have a better body. The sooner we realize that the easier it will be for us to lead a nicer life.