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The Truth Is, Once You Learn How To Die, You Learn How To Live.
-Mitch Albom
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The Truth Is, Once

Mitch Albom
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The Truth Is, Once You Learn How To Die, You Learn How To Live.

Understanding the Quote: "the truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how..."

This quote by Mitch Albom reflects deeply on the theme of death. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Death, Truth Is, You Live You Learn, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Mitch Albom interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom is celebrated for insightful thoughts on death and truth is. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Death
Truth Is
You Live You Learn
More From Mitch Albom
As Mankind Grew Obsessed With Its Hours, The Sorrow Of Lost Time Became A Permanent Hole In The Human Heart. People Fretted Over Missed Chances, Over Inefficient Days; They Worried Constantly About How Long They Would Live, Because Counting Life’s Moments Had Led, Inevitably, To Counting Them Down. Soon, In Every Nation And In Every Language, Time Became The Most Precious Commodity.
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Sacrfice," The Captain Said. "you Made One. I Made One. We All Made Them. But You Were Angry Over Yours. You Kept Thinking About What You Lost. You Didn't Get It. Sacrifice Is A Part Of Life. It's Supposed To Be. It's Not Something To Regret. It's Something To Aspire To.
Regret
Sacrifice
Thinking
But They Wanted You. Time Is Not Something You Give Back. The Very Next Moment May Be Answer To Your Prayer. To Deny That Is To Deny The Most Important Part Of The Future.
Prayer
Giving
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You See, You Closed Your Eyes. That Was The Difference. Sometimes You Cannot Believe What You See, You Have To Believe 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 Falling.
Love
Life
Trust
My Father Moved Through Theys Of We, Singing Each New Leaf Out Of Each Tree, (and Every Child Was Sure That Spring Danced When She Heard My Father Sing).
Children
Spring
Father
Lost Love Is Still Love. It Takes A Different Form, That's All.
Lost Love
Love Is
Different
The Pain We Suffer Is A Way To Make Us Appreciate What Comes Next.
Pain
Appreciate
Suffering
Tears Are Okay [morrie Schwartz]
Tears
Okay
Morrie
Timing Is Everything. That´s Right. Which Is Why Our Sages Tell Us To Repent Exactly One Day Before We Die." But How Do You Know It´s The Day Before You Die? I Asked. He Raised His Eyebrows. "exactly
Eyebrows
One Day
Sage
You Have Peace," The Old Woman Said, "when You Make It With Yourself.
Peace
Said
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I Traded Lots Of Dreams For A Bigger Paycheck, And I Never Even Realized I Was Doing It.
Dream
Bigger
Paychecks
If We Knew What Comes Next, We Never Would Have Worried.
Next
Worried
Ifs
There Is A Big Confusion In This Country Over What We Want Verses What We Need...you Need Food. You Want A Chocolate Sundae.
Country
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Chocolate
Forgive Yourself Before You Die. Then Forgive Others.
Death
Life Changing
Forgiving
She Felt Worthless And Hollow. There Was No Hope Of Fixing This. And When Hope Is Gone, Time Is Punishment.
Punishment
Gone
Fixing
Without Love We All Like Birds With Broken Wings.
Wings
Broken
Bird
Death Doesn't Just Take Someone, It Misses Someone Else, And In The Small Distance Between Being Taken And Being Missed, Lives Are Changed.
Missing Someone
Distance
Taken
You Have To Start Over. That's What They Say. But Life Is Not A Board Game, And Losing A Loved One Is Never Really "starting Over." More Like "continuing Without.
Losing A Loved One
Games
Starting Over
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."
Giving
Feelings
Dying
When A Lost Loved One Appears Before You, It's Your Brain That Fights It, Not Your Heart.
Heart
Fighting
Brain
Accept What You Are Able To Do And What You Are Not Able To Do.
Able
Forgive Yourself
Accepting
It's Amazing The Fantasies Your Mind Can Put Together.
Mind
Together
Fantasy
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.
Beautiful
Issues
Age
Kids Chase The Love That Eludes Them, And For Me, That Was My Father's Love. He Kept It Tucked Away, Like Papers In A Briefcase. And I Kept Trying To Get In There.
Father
Kids
Trying
But Hurting Ourselves To Inflict Pain On Others Is Just Another Cry To Be Loved.
Hurt
Pain
Cry
There Are Many Things In My Life That I Wish I Could Take Back. Many Moments I Would Recast.
Wish
Moments
Mothers Support Certain Illusions About Their Children, And One Of My Illusions Was That I Liked Who I Was, Because She Did. When She Passed Away, So Did That Idea.
Mother
Children
Ideas
Learn What You Do Not Know. Understand The Consequences Of Counting The Moments.
Moments
Counting
Knows
Holding On To Things Only Breaks Your Heart.
Heart
Holding On
Break
After The Israelites Safely Crossed The Red Sea, The Egyptians Chased After Them And Were Drowned. God's Angels Wanted To Celebrate The Enemy's Demise. God Saw This And Grew Angry. He Said, In Essence, 'stop Celebrating. For They Are My Children,too.
Children
Angel
Sea
It Is No Coincidence That The Words 'trying' And 'dying' Are Only A Few Letters Apart.
Dying
Trying
Letters
God Sings, We Hum Along, And There Are Many Melodies, But It's All One Song - One Same, Wonderful, Human Song.
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Wonderful
Melody
I Shot You, All Right," He Said, "and You Lost Something, But You Gained Something As Well. You Just Don't Know It Yet. I Gained Something, Too." What?" I Got To Keep My Promise. I Didn't Leave You Behind.
Promise
Lost
Shots
Being Unheard Is The Ground Floor Of Giving Up, And Giving Up Is The Ground Floor Of Doing Yourself In. It’s Not So Much, What’s The Point? It’s More Like, What’s The Difference?
Giving Up
Differences
Giving
He Did Not Know That The Child Who Had Asked For Yesterday Was Now Seeking To Own Tomorrow.
Children
Yesterday
Tomorrow
Strangers Are Just Family You Have Yet To Come To Know.
Family
Stranger
Knows
This Is How You Start To Get Respect, By Offering Something That You Have.
Offering
It’s Funny. I Met A Man Once Who Did A Lot Of Mountain Climbing. I Asked Him Which Was Harder, Ascending Or Descending? He Said Without A Doubt Descending, Because Ascending You Were So Focused On Reaching The Top, You Avoided Mistakes. The Backside Of A Mountain Is A Fight Against Human Nature,” He Said. “you Have To Care As Much About Yourself On The Way Down As You Did On The Way Up.
Mistake
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Men
Tell Me About Your Family," I Said. And So She Did. I Listened Intently As My Mother Went Through Each Branch Of The Tree. Years Later, After The Funeral, Maria Had Asked Me Questions About The Family - Who Was Related To Whom - And I Struggled. I Couldn't Remember. A Big Chunk Of Our History Had Been Buried With My Mother. You Should Never Let Your Past Disappear That Way.
Mother
Past
Years
You're Not Going To Fix Things By Helping 65-year-olds Or 75-year-olds For Any Long Run.
Running
Years
Long
The Second Death. To Think That You Died And No One Would Remember You. I Wondered If This Was Why We Tried So Hard To Make Our Mark In America. To Be Known. Think Of How Important Celebrity Has Become. We Sing To Get Famous; Expose Our Worst Secrets To Get Famous; Lose Weight, Eat Bugs, Even Commit Murder To Get Famous. Our Young People Post Their Deepest Thoughts On Public Web Sites. They Run Cameras From Their Bedrooms. It’s As If We Are Screaming Notice Me! Remember Me! Yet The Notoriety Barely Lasts. Names Quickly Blur And In Time Are Forgotten.
Faith
Running
Thinking
When You Are Measuring Life, You Are Not Living It.
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A Child Embarrassed By His Mother,” She Said, “is Just A Child Who Hasn’t Lived Long Enough.
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Long
Soon Man Will Count All His Days, And Then Smaller Segments Of The Day, And Then Smaller Still—until The Counting Consumes Him, And The Wonder Of The World He Has Been Given Is Lost.
Men
World
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People Are Only Mean When They're Threatened, And That's What Our Culture Does. That's What Our Economy Does.
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You Were One Person, And You Changed The World.
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We Move Through Places Every Day That Would Never Have Been If Not For Those Who Came Before Us. Our Workplaces, Where We Spend So Much Time--we Often Think They Began With Our Arrival. That's Not True.
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Thinking
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I Would Lying If I Said I Would Laugh In The Face Of Death.
Lying
Laughing
Faces
There Is No Point In Keeping Vengeance Or Stubbornness. These Things" -he Sighed- "these Things I So Regret In My Life. Pride. Vanity. Why Do We Do The Things We Do? Morrie Schwartz
Regret
Pride
Vanity
My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts, Neither Are Your Ways My Ways" From The Book Of Isaiah
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Book
Way
Have You Ever Really Had A Teacher? One Who Saw You As A Raw But Precious Thing, A Jewel That, With Wisdom, Could Be Polished To A Proud Shine?
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A Wind Blew, And The Sand Around His Drawing Scattered. He Wrapped His Fingers Inside His Wife's, And Father Time Rekindled A Connection He Had Only Ever Had With Her. He Surrendered To That Sensation And Felt The Final Drops Of Their Lives Touch One Another, Like Water In A Cave, Top Meets Bottom, Heaven Meets Earth. As Their Eyes Closed, A Different Set Of Eyes Opened, And They Rose From The Ground As A Shared South, Up And Up, A Sun And A Moon In A Single Sky.
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Eye
Moon
Anger Is A Poison. It Eats Us Inside. We Think When We Hate Someone We Hurt Them, But Hatred Is A Curved Blade, And The Harm We Do To Others We Also Do To Ourselves.
Inspirational
Hurt
Hate
Every Life Has One True Love Snapshot.
Snapshots
One True Love
Everyone Knows They Re Going To Die,' He Said Again, 'but Nobody Believes It. If We Did, We Would Do Things Differently.
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Said
Knows
Mankind Is Connected In Ways It Does Not Understand - Even In Dreams.
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Doe
Way
We Cannot Stop What Heaven Chooses.
Heaven
He Almost Told Her Everything Right Then, That Very Moment. But You Grab A Moment, Or You Let It Pass. He Let It Pass.
Moments
Because One Thing God Gave Us- And I'm Afraid It's At Times A Little Too Much- Is Freewill. Freedom To Choose. I Believe He Gave Us Everything Needed To Build A Beautiful World, If We Choose Wisely.
Beautiful
Believe
World
Parents Rarely Let Go Of Their Children, So Children Let Go Of Them. They Move On. They Move Away.
Letting Go
Children
Moving
Aging Is Not Just Decay, You Know, Its Growth.
Growth
Decay
Aging
Remember Me For These Days, Not The Old Ones.
Remember
These Days
Remember Me
You Can Feel The Whole World And Still Feel Lost In It. So Many People Are In Pain-- No Matter How Smart Or Accomplished--they Cry, They Yearn, They Hurt. But Instead Of Looking Down On Things, They Look Up, Which Is Where I Should Have Been Looking, Too. Because When The World Quiets To The Sound Of Your Own Breathing, We All Want The Same Things: Comfort, Love And A Peaceful Heart.
Faith
Hurt
Pain
It’s Not Contagious, You Know. Death Is As Natural As Life. It’s Part Of The Deal We Made.
Natural
Made
Contagious
She Had A Bottomless Well Of Love For Me.
Wells
One More Day
I Think, In General, The Sports I've Enjoyed Covering The Most Have Been The Offbeat Ones. The More Popular, Mainstream, The Less I Like Them Because They're More, They're More Structured And The Players Don't Have Much Interesting To Say Because They're Interviewed All The Time.
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Player
Thinking
Sacrifice Is A Part Of Life. It's Supposed To Be. It's Not Something To Regret. It's Something To Aspire To.
Life And Love
Regret
Sacrifice
Sometimes, When You Are Not Getting The Love You Want, Giving Makes You Think You Will.
Love You
Thinking
Giving
You Know What That Reflects? Unsatisfied Lives. Unfulfilled Lives. Lives That Haven't Found Meaning . Because If You've Found Meaning In Your Life, You Don't Want To Go Back. You Want To Go Forward. You Want To See More, Do More. You Can't Wait Until Sixty-five.
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Waiting
Want
The News Of Life Is Carried Via Telephone. A Baby's Birth, A Couple Engaged, A Tragic Car Accident On A Late Night Highway - Most Milestones Of The Human Journey, Good Or Bad, Are Foreshadowed By The Sound Of A Ringing.
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Couple
Night
Chicago Keeps Getting All These Complete Games. Im Expecting 50 Cent Hot Dogs.
Dog
Games
Chicago
Have You Ever Lost Someone You Love And Wanted One More Conversation, One More Chance To Make Up For The Time When You Thought They Would Be Here Forever? If So, Then You Know You Can Go Your Whole Life Collecting Days, And None Will Outweigh The One You Wish You Had Back.
Sad
Losing A Loved One
Loss
Scenery Without Solace Is Meaningless.
Scenery
Solace
Meaningless
The Truth Is, When Our Mothers Held Us, Rocked Us, Stroked Our Heads -none Of Us Ever Got Enough Of That. We All Yearn In Some Way To Return To Those Days When We Were Completely Taken Care Of - Unconditional Love, Unconditional Attention. Most Of Us Didn't Get Enough.
Mother
Taken
Unconditional Love
I Don't Know About Heaven Or Hell, But I Do Know That We Are Visited All The Time By The Spirits Of Those Who Affected Us In Life.
Heaven
Spirit
Hell
Small Towns Are Like Metronomes; With The Slightest Flick, The Beat Changes.
Towns
Small Town
Beats
Accept What You Are Able To Do And What You Are Not Able To Do. Accept The Past As Past, Without Denying It Or Discarding It. Learn To Forgive Yourself And To Forgive Others. Don't Assume That It's Too Late To Get Involved.
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Forgiving
Too Late
For As Spiritual As Some People Think My Books Are, I've Never Really Dealt With Religious Things.
Spiritual
Religious
Book
Happiness In A Tablet. This Is Our World. Prozac. Daxil. Xanax. Billions Are Spent To Advertise Such Drugs. And Billions Are Spent Purchasing Them. You Don't Even Need A Specific Trauma, Just 'general Depression' Is Enough, Or Anxiety, As If Sadness Is As Treatable As The Common Cold.
Xanax
Sadness
Our World
I Thought About All The People I Knew Who Spent Many Of Their Waking Hours Feeling Sorry For Themselves. How Useful It Would Be To Put A Daily Limit On Self-pity. Just A Few Tearful Minutes, Then On With The Day.
Sorry
Self
People
I Seem To Have Very Few Casual Readers, Only Passionate And Appreciative Ones.
Passionate
Appreciative
Casual
But Then She Did. She Died. No More Visits, No More Phone Calls. And Without Even Realizing It, I Began To Drift, As If My Roots Had Been Pulled, As If I Were Floating Down Some Side Branch Of A River.
Phones
Roots
Rivers
People Say They 'find' Love, As If It Were An Object Hidden By A Rock. But Love Takes Many Forms, And It Is Never The Same For Any Man And Woman. What People Find Then Is A Certain Love. And [he] Found A Certain Love With [her], A Grateful Love, A Deep But Quiet Love, One That He Knew, Above All Else, Was Irreplaceable.
Grateful
Men
Rocks
So, Have We Solved The Secret Of Happiness? "i Believe So," He Said Are You Going To Tell Me? "yes.ready?" Ready. "be Satisfied." That's It? "be Greatful." That's It? "for What You Have.for The Love You Receive.and For What God Has Given You." That's It? He Looked Me In The Eye.then He Sighed Deeply. "that's It.
Believe
Love You
Eye
That Kind Of Love - The Kind You Realize You Already Have By The Life You've Created Together - That's The Kind That Lasts.
Together
Lasts
Kind
I Think What You Notice Most When You Haven’t Been Home In A While Is How Much The Trees Have Grown Around Your Memories.
Memories
Home
Thinking
In Heaven, There Is No Judgment, But Rather An Opportunity To Examine Our Lives-who We Touched, The Choices We Made, And The Consequences Of Those Choices.
Opportunity
Choices
Heaven
What In Life Can Love Not Penetrate?
Penetrate
I Believe That You Live On Inside The Hearts And Minds Of Everyone You've Touched While You Were Here On Earth.
Believe
Heart
Mind
If You Really Could Fit God In A File, You Wouldn't Need To Believe In God, You Know, You'd Just Go Get The File Like A Box Of Corn Flakes Off The Shelf.
Believe
Corn Flakes
Needs
A Little Girl Came Home From School With A Drawing She'd Made In Class.she Danced Into The Kitchen ,where Her Mother Was Preparing Dinner. "mom,guess What ?" She Squealed Waving The Drawing . Her Mother Never Looked Up. "what"? She Said ,tending To The Pots. "guess What?" The Child Repeated ,waving The Drawings. "what?" The Mother Said , Tending To The Plates. "mom, You're Not Listening" "sweetie,yes I Am" "mom" The Child Said "you're Not Listening With Your Eyes
Girl
Mom
Mother
You'll Come To My Grave? To Tell Me Your Problems?" My Problems? "yes.' And You'll Give Me Answers? "i'll Give You What I Can. Don't I Always?" I Picture His Grave, On The Hill, Overlooking The Pond, Some Little Nine Foot Piece Of Earth Where They Will Place Him, Cover Him With Dirt, Put A Stone On Top. Maybe In A Few Weeks? Maybe In A Few Days? I See Myself Sitting There Alone, Arms Across My Knees, Staring Into Space. It Won't Be The Same, I Say, Not Being Able To Hear You Talk. "ah, Talk . . . " He Closes His Eyes And Smiles. "tell You What. After I'm Dead, You Talk. And I'll Listen.
Eye
Feet
Space
Once We Began To Chime The Hour, We Lost The Ability To Be Satisfied
Hours
Lost
Chimes
Sharing Tales Of Those We've Lost Is How We Keep From Really Losing Them.
Inspiring
Memories
Losing
Ends Are For Yesterday, Not Tomorrows.
Yesterday
Tomorrow
Ends
All Parents Damage Their Children. It Cannot Be Helped. Youth, Like Pristine Glass, Absorbs The Prints Of Its Handlers. Some Parents Smudge, Others Crack, A Few Shatter Childhoods Completely Into Jagged Little Pieces, Beyond Repair.
Family
Children
Believe
Tension Of Opposites.
Opposites
Tension
If You Find One True Friend In Your Life, You're Richer Than Most. If That One True Friend Is Your Husband, You're Blessed." She Paused. "and If That One True Friend Is Your Sister, Don't Feel Bad. At Least, She Can't Divorce You.
Husband
True Friend
Blessed
The Problem, Mitch, Is That We Don't Believe We Are As Much Alike As We Are. Whites And Blacks, Catholics And Protestants, Men And Women. If We Saw Each Other As More Alike, We Might Be Very Eager To Join In One Big Human Family In This World, And To Care About That Family The Way We Care About Our Own. But Believe Me, When You Are Dying, You See It Is True. We All Have The Same Beginning - Birth - And We All Have The Same End - Death. So How Different Can We Be? Invest In The Human Family. Invest In People. Build A Little Community Of Those You Love And Who Love You. Morrie Schwartz
Love
Believe
Men
Fairness, Does Not Govern Life And Death. If It Did, No Good Person Would Ever Die Young. ~ The Blue Man
Men
Blue
Life And Death
I Believe The Biggest Themes Of Life Are Put Into The Best Focus When Held Up Against The Very Sharp Light Of Mortality.
Believe
Light
Focus
Suddenly, Details Seemed Extremely Important. Details Were Something To Grab On To, A Way To Insert Myself Into The Story.
Important
Details
Stories
Never Tell A Child That Something It's Too Hard
Children
Hard
No, Edward. You Are Here So I Can Teach You Something. All The People You Meet Here Have One Thing To Teach You.
People
Teach
One Thing
I'm In Love With Hope.
Personally, I Always Wondered About Authors And Celebrities Who Loudly Declared There Was No God. It Was Usually When They Were Healthy And Popular And Being Listened To By Crowds. What Happens, I Wondered, In The Quiet Moments Before Death? By Then, They Have Lost The Stage, The World Has Moved On. If Suddenly, In Their Last Gasping Moments, Through Fear, A Vision, A Late Enlightenment, They Change Their Minds About God, Who Would Know?
Quiet Moments
Healthy
Mind
I Would Certainly Make The Attendance In College Paid For, At Least At A Community College Level Or A State - You Know, A Sponsored University Level So That If You Wanted To Go To College And If You Had The Grades - You Might Not Go To Harvard - But You Went To College.
College
Community
Attendance
You Can't Get Stuck On What Should Have Happened. That Doesn't Help You.
Should Have
Helping
Stuck
You Say You Should Have Died Instead Of Me. But During My Time On Earth, People Died Instead Of Me, Too. It Happens Every Day. When Lightning Strikes A Minute After You Are Gone, Or An Airplane Crashes That You Might Have Been On. When Your Colleague Falls Ill And You Do Not. We Think Such Things Are Random. But There Is A Balance To It All. One Withers, Another Grows. Birth And Death Are Part Of A Whole.
Fall
Airplane
Thinking
Belief, Hard Work, Love–you Have Those Things, You Can Do Anything.
Love You
Hard Work
Belief
You Can Find Something Truly Important In An Ordinary Minute.
Important
Ordinary
Minutes
But My Father, A Thief In Many Ways, Had Robbed Me Of My Concentration.
Father
Thieves
Way
No. You Can't Work Your Way Into Heaven. Anytime You Try And Justify Yourself With Works, You Disqualify Yourself With Works. What I Do Here, Every Day, For The Rest Of My Life, Is Only My Way Of Saying, 'lord, Regardless Of What Eternity Holds For Me, Let Me Give Something Back To You. I Know It Doesn't Even No Scorecard. But Let Me Make Something Of My Life Before I Go.. And Then, Lord, I'm At Your Mercy.
Giving
Heaven
Trying
Didn't People Call New Year's The Loneliest Night On The Calender? She Took Comfort In Knowing Somewhere On The Planet, Someone Might Be As Miserable As She Was.
New Year
Night
Years
Faith Is About Doing. You Are How You Act, Not Just How You Believe.
Faith
Christian
Believe
Silence Is Worse When You Know It Won't Be Broken.
Broken
Silence
Silence Is
You Need To Keep People Close. You Need To Give Them Access To Your Heart.
Heart
People
Giving
When Hope Is Gone, Time Is Punishment.
Punishment
Gone
Gone Time
He Was Near Tears, 'who Do I Blame?' He Kept Asking Me. 'there Is No God.i Can Only Blame Myself.'" The Reb's Face Tightened, As If In Pain. "that," He Said, Softly, "is A Terrible Self-indictment." Worse Than An Unanswered Prayer? "oh Yes. It Is Far More Comforting To Think God Listened And Said No, Than To Think That Nobody's Out There.
Prayer
Pain
Thinking
You Knew Me. You Knew That Person, But You Don't Know The Person I'm Trying To Become... You Are Not Your Past!
Past
Trying
Persons
I Used To Be A Classic Workaholic, And After Seeing How Little Work And Career Really Mean When You Reach The End Of Your Life, I Put A New Emphasis On Things I Believe Count More. These Things Include: Family, Friends, Being Part Of A Community, And Appreciating The Little Joys Of The Average Day.
Believe
Mean
Average
I Find Interesting Characters Or Lessons That Resonate With People And Sometimes I Write About Them In The Sports Pages, Sometimes I Write Them In A Column, Sometimes In A Novel, Sometimes A Play Or Sometimes In Nonfiction. But At The Core I Always Say To Myself, 'is There A Story Here? Is This Something People Want To Read?'
Sports
Writing
Character
I Thought About The Days I Had Handed Over To A Bottle..the Nights I Can't Remember..the Mornings I Slept Thru..all The Time Spent Running From Myself.
Running
Morning
Night
Everything Man Does Today To Be Efficient, To Fill The Hour? It Does Not Satisfy. It Only Makes Him Hungry To Do More. Man Wants To Own His Existence. But No One Owns Time.
Men
Doe
Want
What Is It?” “a Prayer.” “for A Child?” She Nodded. “for Me?” Another Nod. “on A Tree?” “trees Spend All Day Looking Up At God.
Prayer
Children
Tree
I Believe He Died This Way On Purpose. I Believe He Wanted No Chilling Moments, No One To Witness His Last Breath And Be Haunted By It, The Way He Had Been Haunted By His Mother's Death-notice Telegram Or By His Father's Corpse In The City Morgue.
Mother
Father
Believe
I Like Myself Better When I'm With You.
Life
Standing Tall
He Makes Me Feel
If We Tend To The Things That Are Important In Life, If We Are Right With Those We Love, And Behave In Line With Our Faith, Our Lives Will Not Be Cursed With The Aching Throb Of Unfulfilled Business. Our Words Will Always Be Sincere, Our Embraces Will Be Tight. We Will Never Wallow In The Agony Of ‘i Could Have, I Should Have’. We Can Sleep In A Storm. And When Its Time, Our Goodbyes Will Be Complete.
Goodbye
Sleep
Should Have
"you Marked The Minutes," The Old Man Said. "but Did You Use Them Wisely? To Be Still? To Cherish? To Be Grateful? To Lift And Be Lifted?"
Grateful
Men
Use
No Matter How Smart She Appeared, She Was Fragile At Her Core.
Smart
Matter
Fragile
How Do People Choose Their Final Words? Do They Realize Their Gravity? Are They Fated To Be Wise?
Wise
People
Finals
The Story Of My Recent Life.' I Like That Phrase. It Makes More Sense Than 'the Story Of My Life', Because We Get So Many Lives Between Birth And Death. A Life To Be A Child. A Life To Come Of Age. A Life To Wander, To Settle, To Fall In Love, To Parent, To Test Our Promise, To Realize Our Mortality- And In Some Lucky Cases, To Do Something After That Realization.
Love
Children
Fall
Being Here In Detroit, Our Public Education In This City Is - It's Shocking. And The Oversight Of It And The Oversight Of The Teachers And The Funding Is Nonexistent, And The Priority That's Put On It Is So Low.
Teacher
Cities
Priorities
Bad News Has No Limits. We Often Feel It Should, Like A Rainstorm That Can't Possibly Get Any Heavier. But A Storm Can Always Worsen, & The Burdens Of Life Can Too.
Burdens Of Life
Storm
News
Sometimes You Have To Do Things When Sad Things Happen.
Sometimes
Happens
Sad Things
There Was Always A Quest For More Minutes, More Hours, Faster Progress To Accomplish More In Each Day. The Simple Joy Of Living Between Summers Was Gone.
Summer
Simple
Joy
No Matter Where You Live, The Biggest Defect We Human Beings Have Is Our Shortsightedness. We Don't See What We Could Be.
Where You Live
Matter
Defects
As You Grow, You Learn More. If You Stayed As Ignorant As You Were At Twenty-two, You'd Always Be 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 The Positive That You Understand You're Going To Die, And That You Live A Better Life Because Of It.
Life
Positive
Learning
Strangers Are Family You Haven't Recognize Yet
Stranger
Havens
At That Moment I Felt Lonelier Than I'd Ever Felt Before, And That Loneliness Seemed To Squat In My Lungs And Crush All But My Most Minimal Breathing. There Was Nothing Left To Say. Not About This. Not About Anything.
Crush
Loneliness
Breathing
There Is A Reason God Limits Man's Days.
Men
Limits
Reason
There Are No Random Acts.
If You Hold Back On The Emotions--if You Don't Allow Yourself To Go All The Way Through Them--you Can Never Get To Being Detached, You're Too Busy Being Afraid.
Way
Emotion
Busy
Anyone Who Tries To Write A Memoir Needs To Keep In Mind That What's Interesting To You Isn't Necessarily Interesting To A Reader.
Writing
Interesting
Mind
Got An Hour Or Two? That's All It Takes For One Of My Books.
Book
Two
Hours
Your Voice Will Come. We All Go Through The Same Thing. You Cannot Talk When You First Arrive." He Smiled. "it Helps You Listen.
Voice
Firsts
Helping
I Don't Mean You Disregard Every Rule Of Your Community. I Don't Go Around Naked, For Example. I Don't 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. ' -morrie Schwartz
Running
Mean
Thinking
You've Lived Through A Lot Of Wars, I Said. "yes." Do They Ever Make More Sense? "no.
War
Said
The Most Important Elements Of Faith [are] Believing In Something Bigger Than Yourself, Taking Care Of Those Less Fortunate Than You.
Believe
Important
Elements
She Had Been So Consumed With Escaping Her Own Misery, She Hadn't Considered The Misery She Might Inflict.
Escaping
Might
Misery
Sometimes What You Miss The Most Is The Way A Loved One Made You Feel About Yourself.
Missing
Way
Sometimes
Giving To Other People Makes Me Feel Alive. Not My Car Or My House. Not What I Look Like In The Mirror. When I Give My Time, When I Can Make Someone Smile After They Were Feeling Sad.
Mirrors
People
Giving
Taffy. He Thinks About Taffy. He Thinks It Would Take His Teeth Out Now, But He Would Eat It Anyhow, If It Meant Eating It With Her.
Thinking
Teeth
Taffy
We All Yearn For What We Have Lost. But Sometimes, We Forget What We Have.
Sometimes
Forget
Lost
I Lived," Dor Said, "but I Was Not Alive.
Alive
Said
Don't Cling To Things Because Everything Is Impermanent.
Detachment
Penetrate
Holding Anger Is A Poison. It Eats You From The Inside. We Think That Hating Is A Weapon That Attacks The Person Who Harmed Us. But Hatred Is A Curved Blade. And The Harm We Do, We Do To Ourselves. Forgive, Edward. Forgive...no One Is Born With Anger. And When We Die, The Soul Is Freed Of It. But Now, Here, In Order To Move On, You Must Understand Why You Felt What You Did, And Why You No Longer Need To Feel It.' She Touched His Hand. 'you Need To Forgive Your Father.' ~pgs 141-142
Father
Hate
Moving
For Many Of Us, The Curtain Had Just Come Down On Childhood.
Childhood
Curtains
You Are Not Your Past.
Past
Your Past
Critics Have A Problem With Sentimentality. Readers Do Not. I Write For Readers.
Writing
Problem
Critics
When We Are Most Alone Is When We Embrace Another's Loneliness.
Loneliness
Embrace
The Way You Get Meaning Into Your Life Is To Devote Yourself To Loving Others.
Generosity
Charity
Giving Help
Having More Does Not Keep You From Wanting More. And If You Always Want More - To Be Richer, More Beautiful, More Well Known - You Are Missing The Bigger Picture, And I Can Tell You From Experience, Happiness Will Never Come
Beautiful
Missing
Doe
Mortality Means You Don't Have Forever To Work Things Out. You Can Live Your Life Unexamined But Then On The Last Day You're Going To Think: 'i've Left Things A Little Late.
Mean
Thinking
Forever
A Memoir Should Have Some Uplifting Quality, Inspiring Or Illuminating, And That's What Separates A Life Story That Can Influence Other People.
Uplifting
Should Have
People
The Word 'commitment' Has Lost It's Meaning. I'm Old Enough To Remember When It Used To Be Positive. A Commited Person Was Someone To Be Admired. He Was Loyal And Steady. Now A Commitment Is Something You Avoid. You Don't Want To Tie Yourself Down.
Commitment
Ties
Being Positive
I Never Hear Anything About Education. Education - I Guess It's Just Not Sexy Enough. And Everybody Claims To Love Their Children And Our Children Are The Most Important Thing, But If That's The Case, How Come We Never Hear More About Education As An Election Issue?
Sexy
Children
Issues
I Worked Because I Could Control It.
Sometimes, Questions Are More Hurtful Than Insults.
Hurtful
Insult
Sometimes
Once, Lovers On Faraway Shores Sat By Candlelight And Dipped Ink To Parchment, Writing Words That Could Not Be Erased. They Took An Evening To Compose Their Thoughts, Maybe The Next Evening As Well.
Writing
Next
Evening
Instead, He Would Make Death His Final Project, The Center Point Of His Days. Since Everyone Was Going To Die, He Could Be Of Great Value, Right? He Could Be Research. A Human Textbook. Study Me In My Slow And Patient Demise. Watch What Happens To Me. Learn With Me.
Watches
Finals
Textbooks
Once Heaven Is Done With Grandma, We'd Like Her Back, Thanks.
Grandma
Heaven
Done
Life Goes Quickly, Doesn't It?
There's A Big Confusion In This Country Over What We Want Versus What We Need," Morrie Said. "you Need Food, You Want A Chocolate Sundae. You Have To Be Honest With Yourself. You Don't Need The Latest Sports Car, You Don't Need The Biggest House. The Truth Is, You Don't Get Satisfaction From Those Things. You Know What Really Gives You Satisfaction?...offering Others What You Have To Give...i Don't Mean Money, Mitch. I Mean Your Time. Your Concern. Your Storytelling. It's Not So Hard.
Sports
Country
Mean
This Is A Story About A Family And, As There Is A Ghost Involved, You Might Cal It A Ghost Story. But Every Family Is A Ghost Story. The Dead Sit At Out Tables Long After They Have Gone.
Ghost Stories
Long
Gone
There Are A Few Rules I Know To Be True About Love And Marriage: If You Don't Respect The Other Person, You're Gonna Have A Lot Of Trouble. If You Don't Know How To Compromise, You're Gonna Have A Lot Of Trouble. If You Can't Talk Openly About What Goes On Between You, You're Gonna Have A Lot Of Trouble. And If You Don't Have A Common Set Of Values In Life, You're Gonna Have A Lot Of Trouble. Your Values Must Be Alike.' - Morrie Schwartz
Love And Marriage
Goes On
Common
Things Change When You're Not In Danger Anymore.
Things Change
Danger
We Do Not Realize The Sound The World Makes -- Unless, Of Course, It Comes To A Stop. Then, When It Starts, It Sounds Like An Orchestra.
Sound
World
Orchestra
You're Not Going To Get To College - You're Not Even Going To Be Qualified, Even To Go To A Community College, If You Don't Address The Basic Problem Of Literacy In America. And There's No Reason - No Reason - For Us To Have That Problem.
College
America
Community
That's What Heaven Is. You Get To Make Sense Of Your Yesterdays
Yesterday
Heaven
Make Sense
The Basis Of Everything, Of All Knowledge, Is The Ability To Read.
Ability
Bases
I Give Myself A Good Cry If I Need It, But Then I Concentrate On All Good Things Still In My Life.
Giving
Needs
Cry
As Long As We Can Love Each Other, And Remember The Feeling Of Love We Had, We Can Die Without Ever Really Going Away.
Long
Feelings
Going Away
It Is Far More Comforting To Think God Listened And Said No, Than To Think That Nobody’s Out There.
Thinking
Comforting
Said
To These People, Unhappiness Was A Condition, An Intolerable State Of Affairs. If Pills Could Help, Pills Were Taken. But Pills Were Not Going To Change The Fundamental Problem In The Construction. Wanting What You Can´t Have. Looking For Self-worth In The Mirror. Layering Work On Top Of Work And Still Wondering Why You Weren´t Satisfied - Before Working Some More.
Taken
Self Worth
Mirrors
Because When The World Quiets To The Sound Of Your Own Breathing, We All Want The Same Things: Comfort, Love, And A Peaceful Heart.
Beautiful
Heart
Breathing
The Most Inspirational Man I Knew Only Reached His Potential By Helping A Child Reach His.
Children
Men
Helping
Don't Let Our Outside Labels Or How Fervent We Look Or Zealous We Are Or How Righteous We Seem; That's Not How You Measure Yourself Against Other People. Everyone Is A Child Of God; If We Really Believed That, We'd Treat Each Other Better.
Children
People
Zealous
Much Of What We Called "depression" Was Really Dissatisfaction, A Result Of Setting A Bar Impossibly High Or Expecting Treasures We Weren't Willing To Work For.
Happiness
Bars
Treasure
I Also Believe That Parents, If They Love You, Will Hold You Up Safely, Above Their Swirling Waters, And Sometimes That Means You'll Never Know What They Endured, And You May Treat Them Unkindly, In A Way You Otherwise Wouldn't.
Believe
Love You
Mean
When You Look Into Your Mother’s Eyes, You Know That Is The Purest Love You Can Find On This Earth.
Mother
Love You
Eye
Status Will Get You Nowhere. Only An Open Heart Will Allow You To Float Equally Between Everyone.
Heart
Open Heart
Floats
All Parents Damage Their Children. It Cannot Be Helped.
Children
Parent
Damage
A Man Who Can Take Anything Will Find Most Things Unsatisfying. And A Man Without Memories Is Just A Shell.
Memories
Men
Shells
But You Grab A Moment, Or You Let It Pass.
Moments
Accept Who You Are; And Revel In It.
Confidence
Wisdom
Self Love
There Is No Such Thing As 'too Late' In Life.
Life
Too Late
Late
...the Human Spirit Knows, Deep Down That All Lives Intersect.
Spirit
Humans
Knows
You're Not A Wave, You're A Part Of The Ocean.
Ocean
Wave
Ocean Wave
I Don't Know What It Is About Food Your Mother Makes For You, Especially When It's Something That Anyone Can Make - Pancakes, Meat Loaf, Tuna Salad - But It Carries A Certain Taste Of Memory.
Mother
Memories
Food
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