Today, our tutor told us this was the last blog. On the news, I was happy and sad, happy because I needn’t write blogs any more and sad because I found we would less a nice way to know and touch each other. For the last time, I want to talk about some doubts I have for the right attitude towards life. As a young girl, what I am thinking all now-I think you are the same with me too-is to study hard, make a good career and win my fame as early as possible. Only when I am old can I allow myself to not to pay attention to money and fame, to take my ease, and to really enjoy life. However, the book I am going to refer to is quite different. It makes me doubt my attitude to life, which I have been always holding since I am a child. Though it tells thoughts we all have known, I want to repeat them again here.
A warm-hearted local senior lent me the book, Tuesdays with Morrie, which tells about 14 lessons that a dying old professional, Morrie, gave to his student, Mitch. Weak but respectable Morrie developed Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the same disease with famous scientist Hawking. Also like Hawking, Morrie wasn’t beaten by the incurable disease. He didn’t write an “A Brief History of Time”, though. He continued fighting with fate and kept optimistic all the time. He spent time observing people around him, encouraging them, giving good advice and teach lessons that can be learned only when you are dying. Hawing centered on science, while Morrie on human beings.
He said “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love and to let it come in. . .. . . Love is the only rational act.” He also said “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.” He thinks highly of love. We also know it, but we cannot do it, because loving others will certainly occupy the time which we have planned to spend on playing, studying or working. Should we work hard and neglect to accept love and give love or just do on the contrary? That is to say, do you want to have a high salary and good reputation or just an ordinary but happy life?
Amy said to me we all would finally reach the level where love is more important when we are old. But now, it’s OK for us to pursue wealth and fame, for it is also a period of time for growing up, which deserves our experiencing.
What’s your opinion then?
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Em...Well I can't make out the point that why loving others conflicts with our pursuit of dreams or our work. Pursuing our dreams,to some degree,is also a way showing love to our parents,our family members,our friends and our teachers because they all have expectation on us.Work,for most people,may be only a way to earn money.But you can't deny that every piece of work benefits the society,or in other words is needed by a certain number of people.Thus we are helping them although unself-conciously.
ReplyDeleteIn conclusion,I don't think love is shown only through donation,care or sth.like that.Love has a wide range of forms.
Well, maybe i didn't make it clear. I mean if you want to make success, you must spend more time, which can be used to help your neighours out ( That's not something important. It can be done by you or others), on sitting in a office.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed Tuesdays with Morrie - one of the best books I've read. I also enjoyed The Joy Luck Club - read it. We can love freely while we work hard and seek our career, e.g. helping a classmate understand a concept in maths. We love our family and will put aside time for them; we love ourselves, by taking care of our selves - eating properly, enough sleep, good exercise, and having good friends. Success means different things to different people. To some a high profile career earning lots of money; to others earn a little less, but have time for me to do what they like as leisure activities (my niece is a doctor and she works as a volunteer doctor in Nepal with very little money and she writes that she is very very happy and is successful in her career).
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