Morrie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Morrie - Essay Example to always be able to look at death itself straight in the eye and fight back no matter how hopeless the situation can be and then be on the positive side of things, to look at the future in an optimistic way.The professors future looked short as he has only a few months left to live but he managed to touch everyone around him, from family, relatives, peers, colleagues, and even complete strangers who saw his interview with Ted Koppel when it was shown on television. This paper discusses the important things in life worth knowing about to be happy on earth, in particular, how to live life fully by learning how to die gracefully. Despite being diagnosed with ALS with a very bad prognosis, Morrie Schwartz, the old and sickly professor mentioned earlier, was fiercely determined to live a useful life. He is of the belief that dying people need not be entirely useless; instead he encouraged all people who knew him to come and visit him if they had the time and the inclination so he could still be available to listen to their problems and perhaps give them a piece of useful advice. Morrie Schwartz was indeed a wonderful listener who can help other people because he had empathy and understanding; by letting them unload their problems to him, he would willingly listen despite his pains from the ailment. He was fond of aphorisms, of which the statement, â€Å"once you learn how to die, you learn how to live,† he said (Albom 82) had a very profound meaning for everyone who will listen. What he had meant with this statement is that people looking at impending death realize how precious life and valuable is, tha t these people suddenly realize the importance of the idea of living life to the fullest which means enjoy life without any hesitations or reservations about what other people may think and not waste a minute of it on trivial things that do not really matter in the grand sweep of life. In other words, most people go through life as if sleep-walking, doing things