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Life is a series of pulls back and forth. you want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn't. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted.Page 53:
And slowly a discusiion begins- as Morrie has wanted all along - about the affect of silence on human relations. Why are we embarassed by silence? What comfort do we find in all the noise.page 60: On this day, Morrie says he has an exercise for us to try. We are to stand, facing away from our classmates, and fall backward, relying on another student to catch us. Most of us are uncomfortable with this and we cannot let go for more than a few inches before stopping ourselves...Finally one student, a dark haired girl, crosses her arms over her chest, closes her eyes, leans back ... At the last instant, her assigned partner grabs her head and shoulders and yanks her up harshly.
you see, he says to the girl , you closed your eyes. That was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to beieve what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too - even when you're in the dark. Even when you're fallingpage 104:
But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then can you say, 'All right, I have expereinced that emotion, I recognize that emotion. Now i need to detach from that emotion for a moment.page 120:
you have to find what's good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive. And age is not a competitive issue.page 127:
Mitch, if you are trying to show off for people at the top, forget it, They will look down at you anyhow, And if you're trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone.page 149:
I ve learned this much about marriage. he said now. You get tested. You find out who you are, who the other person is, and how you accomadate or dont.page 155:
"I dont mean you disregard every rule of your community. I dont go around naked, for example. I dont run through red lights. The little things, I can obey. But the big things- how we think, what we value - those you must choose yourself. You can't let anyone--or any society --determine those for you"page 157:
"In the beginning of life, when we are infants, we need others to survive, right? And at the end of life, when you get like me , you need others to survive, right?
His voice dropped to a whisper, "but hers the secret: in between, we need others as well"
page 162: He shared his latest aphorism:
"Dont let go too soon, but don't hang on too long"
