The Days with Morrie
by Mitch Albom.
"We've got a form of brainwashing going on in our country," Morrie sighed. "Do you know how they brainwash people? They repeat something over and over. And thats what we do in this country. Owning things is good. More money is good. More property is good. More commercialism is good. More is good. We repeat it--and have it repreated to us--over and over 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.Wherever I went in my life, I met people wanting to gobble up something new. Gobble up a new car. Gobble up a new piece of property. Gobble up the latest toy. And then they wanted to tell you about it. Guess what I got? Guess what I got?
You know how I always interpreted that? These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back. But it never works. You can't substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship.
Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you, as I'm sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you're looking for, no matter how much of them you have."
Morrie Schwartz
2 comments:
It never ceases to amaze me what my partner finds to post, but this story certainly reaches into me.
I heard a story not too long ago from an Emergency Room nurse, who was tending a patient waiting for a heart, who was told his time was up. He was a millionaire several times over, and offered the nurse $1,000,000 for his heart.
When I was told I had cancer and a few months later that I was extremely lucky to have survived my heart attack, I began to see what Morrie is talking about. There is no substitution for love and believe me when I say you get back what you give, except maybe from a dog. Cats just walk to the other side of the room and sit down with their back to you.
The sad thing about all of this is that we typically learn this lesson too late in life to really benefit from its impact on our lives.
Agree on all counts Alex! Oh and I can find you the perfect pit bull to fill any void you may have in your life. Trust me, they are life savers. Best dogs ever!
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