I finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie on a Monday, in a most peculiar place. At Suntec City, 2nd floor, on the bench right outside Carrefour. Well, I was waiting for a friend to finish her work, then to catch up with her. We were having our little b'lated christmas celebration. Even before I bought her a present at Suntec, I thought about the message that I want the present to carry. There were two: firstly, she is like a precious gem, and secondly, the present is to make up for all the time lost between us because I spent lesser time with her as the years get by.

After finishing Tuesdays with Morrie, only one message remains on the present that I bought for her. She is a precious gem. I figure that money cannot buy time. I have to make up for them, by really being there for her. Morrie devoted so much of his time to keeping in contact with people. His definition of a meaningful life:

Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to the community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.

It is such an unbiased statement ever made, ever so true to the core. It doesn't really state the purpose of life in the specifics. Just to love others. And if the order of importance is taken into consideration, Morrie actually placed loving others first before seeking his self-interest. I guess when we find life so frustrating, so unfulfilling, that is when we're so inward looking, seeking only for the sole purpose of our life. My interpretation of Morrie's insight into this would be to look at others, seek to help others. Then there will come a meaning to your own life, to a certain extent, maybe not the full grasp of why you are placed on planet Earth, but surely of what use you can be while you are here.

And I love re-discovering what I once formulated for myself. Morrie said, "When you learn how to die, you learn how to live." I cannot agree less. Once on 19th Sept 2004, I wrote this in my Thinkpad: "Life - am I prepared to die? Only when we die, then can we grasp the meaning of eternal life to the full."

Tuesdays with Morrie. Truly a wonderful book. For once, I am not to give credits to the writer, but to the main character in the story. May he continue to live on, in the love he has so genuinely evoked in others.


posted by lil piggie at 1:18 AM

Finished Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time within a week! *clap clap clap* And now I am reading Tuesdays with Morrie, a seemingly easy book to read too. And I had a sharp taste of Roald Dahl's adult short stories with the one entitled "The Landlady". It just stops short of a complete explanation, and keeps your mind wondering what it could be. But I guess this is what makes his short stories good, and this is the essence of any good short stories - to keep the readers on their toes.

Now, about the Dog book, it was way past my expectation of what it was. My friend FongKuan told me that it is like a children's book, only that I had no idea it was a book that was meant to be written by a child, a child with some sort of problem. I don't know precisely what is the term used for them - is autism the right word? That is what Matt Haddon was quoted as being having a lot of experience with these special group of children. I am simply amazed at how the mind of such a child functions. Many a times, I dare say we misunderstood them. They were just being very much themselves, as they have every right to, and it is just us who were not very helpful in accepting them as they are in our society. There is a lack of understanding in us, and this book has helped me bridge up the gap though not completely, but better than just seeing them from afar anyway.

I am also quite touched by this book. It speaks of such reality in life. Such family drama. And it is not of those fairy tales, made-believe, that usually has a happy ending or a wedding. This book does have a happy ending, in a more realistic happy way. I guess this is life, and that is what I like about this book. It paints a very accurate picture of life.


posted by lil piggie at 3:21 PM

I'm terribly excited. Resting on the table next to this comp are Solitaire Mystery, the Curious Incident of the dog in the night time, Tuesdays with Morrie and short stories by Roald Dahl! *clap* This is too wonderful. Praise God for the library in NTU, that's where I'm now. I'm so happy to get to read all these books. :D

Oh, I've finished reading Sophie's World though I don't quite like the ending. I thought it could have been better, something more of a twist, just something better. That part about Hilde being a part of a story too was a good twist in the middle, and something much of a Matrix for us to ponder about. I wonder if I too am part of a book, what role does the Author have in mind for me? Can I break away from this role when the Author is distracted, or sleeping? Does He sleep? *smile..

Then before that I read A.W.Tozer's The Pursuit of God. It is a very mind perspective changing book. I like that chapter on Meekness and Rest a lot. I think it speaks to me about the constant tension that I feel within myself to perform, to excel above others. God says there is no need to. He said "Take my yoke, which is light and easy". I don't really know how to put this down in words, but it is very applicable to my life. It's not that I don't strive to excel anymore, but I learn how not to tire myself. Praise the Lord for this wonderful book. I have in mind to go through it again as I realise I have not got the full grasp of most of it. A really splendid book for the soul. :)


posted by lil piggie at 10:45 AM