Book Review

I know I am already way behind quoting lessons from Mitch Albom’s much beloved Tuesdays with Morrie. But I know the magic of a good book is timeless and never fading. It patiently waits for you to crack the spine open and learn as you ought to.

I read the book just this month for the first time in a slow pace, as a bedside companion to relax my brain and fuel nice dreams for a change. I read it for the second time in one sitting, because crying over it once was simply not enough. And now as another personal year-mark passed, I find myself thinking about Professor Morrie. Like the young, fever-pitch ambitious Mitch, I have decided I would like him to be a teacher of my life as well.

A few thoughts sprung from the book as it marries with scenes of my life, mostly incomplete, mostly yet to be fulfilled, all probably wrong to another person or to most or even to me when I read these back. But these are all mine, and I exclusively absorb all rights to think them as I write:

1. Like all the greats, better quit while I’m ahead. I am annoyed at how long I have been procrastinating this important life decision, crippled by small triumphs, acknowledgements of my efforts and abilities, and fear, mostly fear. I keep saying that not because I am good at something doesn’t mean I am happy doing it [cue rueful smile]. But still here I am, finding myself in a position I told myself and everyone I never wanted, doing reasonably well at it for some reason. Now I have made plans to resolve this, scheduled accordingly for 2013, with nice A and B scenarios like a neat little Tree Diagram. May I have the strength to see them through, and if my limbs weaken, may someone be so nice as to kick my bum to the right direction.

2. Detach. This is especially hard from a Scorpio like me to do.  Scorpios are intense and emotional. I get a lot of motherhood-statement crap from these horoscopes, but those assigned traits are admittedly true. That means I absorb stress, heartache, tension, etc like a sponge and internalize them into a ball of tightly wound emotions, during which time it would not be wise to approach me. I think that habit can damage internal organs. So, detach. It’s only work, it’s not my life. It’s only a boy, you never really needed one. It maybe a living, breathing grief, but with pain comes a reinforced heart. It’s only stress. There’s happiness, and friendship, and triumphs too.

3. Fear of aging is overrated. I only realized it when Morrie said it. I would not want to be the person I was when I was 21, or worse, 16. I am still naive now but even more then, and I used to put stock on things that should have mattered less. Now I would like to think that I am not a regretful person, and that I realize that things happen and mistakes are made for a reason. But I am pretty glad to be the 27 year old person I am now who has had these realizations and has learned from these mistakes, thank you very much.

I could go on and on with this post–Morrie had a lot to say–but better end here before you get bored and stop reading. Self-reflection is healing, says my Leadership professor. Even more so when it is your birthday, I say, when the year resets for you specifically. I imagine Morrie’s birthday wish to be “Accept who you are; and revel in it.” Cheers to that.