It talks about the life of the author with his professor from when under him till the time the author was with his professor at his dying moments.
The last class of the professor's life took place once a week every Tuesday. The author was the only student under the professor that time. The topic, The Meaning fo Life. No books were required as teaching was all based on experience. On top of that, there was no exam but were required to keep a log on what they did.
After graduation, as most people do, they move on their seperate path but Morrie and his students were special. They came back. It was what reminded me of my late teacher, the late Mr. Ravindran. He was the reason we (whom knows him) visited my primary school, he was the reason why we had a 'SKTD reunion for students of year 2000' (was attended by at least 80% of the total students of that year). But it could never happen again as he had moved on and only memories of him will be in each student he touched very deeply.
Anyway, moving back to the topic,
Mitch (the author) started visiting his professor more frequently after his professor was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ASL), Lou Gehrig's disease. The professor's condition turned from bad to worse. from losing energy of the lower half of the body, being unable to walk, unable tend his hygene and finally bed ridden. However, he kept his soul alive. Knowing that time was limited, he tried to attend to as many thing especially those whom visited him in particular, Mitch.
It's like being a child again - that was what Morrie said. Altough being embarrassed that he needed someone to help him when he needed to urinate (someone will have to hold a beaker for him) and also to wipe his ass later. He gave in looking at the bright side.
It's a very very interesting long story but below are the things which i could remember that he mentioned:-
Personally:-
1) It's okay to cry (he cried oftenly in front of those that visited him while he was sharing)
2) Embrace aging. As you grow you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.
People and dying:-
3) People are the most important, in particular your family
a - 'I am dying. But I am surrounded by happy souls. How many people can say that?
b - 'So many people walk around with meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing 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.'
c - 'the culture doesn't encourage you to think about such things until you're about to die. We're so wrapped up with egotistical things, career, family, having enough money, meeting the mortgage, getting a new car - So we don't get into the habit of standing back and looking at our lives and saying, Is that all I want? Is something missing?
You need someone to probe you in that direction. It won't just happen automatically.
(in a way, having a 'teacher')
The last i could remember was that he mentioned "before you die forgive yourself and then forgive the others"
An old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson
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