Tragedy.

1) Tragedy is an event that causes great suffering. Everyone experiences their own sort of tragedy in their life time. It is what you take from the tragedy and how it shapes you as a person that is important.

2) To his loved ones, for example, Morrie's death is a tragedy. They suffer greatly from his absence. They experience true hurt through their loss. Morrie taught and gave to all of them. His life was a gift to them. And now that he no longer has life, they miss his presence in their lives.
To Morrie, his death is not a tragedy. He is thankful that he has time to give back more before he goes. He explains this to Mitch and says that not everyone is as lucky as he is, because he has a chance to make things right be fore he dies. Some people continue through their average lives, going day to day, and then one one of those average days they die. There lives are left incomplete. So Morrie fills his day to day with love and teaching, so that his life will feel complete.

3) Perhaps tragedy isn't necessarily a loss. Maybe its the feeling that you didn't know what you had. This leaves us puzzled and insufficient. This is what we translate into the feeling that comes after tragedy strikes; sadness. We mourn for the things we had yet to know. Not only does this feeling occur with death, it occurs with any misfortune. With every choice we make there is something to gain, and something to lose. For the things we cannot control, there is the simple explanation that that's how life goes.

4) Is a love lost a tragedy?
When something or someone leaves our lives, we think of it as our loss; our misfortune. But it is only when we lose something that we realize its importance. And if you are lucky, you are able to realize this soon enough to salvage the love that was lost.

Average.

1) What is average? Normalcy. The habitual repetition of an action. Average days spent doing average things. Things that are second best, not bad but not good. It is easy to be sucked into the vortex that is our average life. It takes everything you have to get out of that vortex. Live you life out of the normal, out of the average. Because once you are average there is no going back to your unique self.

2) My first example has to do with only Mitch. Mitch is now realizing that his goals in life have changed significantly since college. Mitch has been sucked into that vortex driven by his career, and since he has reunited with Morrie he sees very clearly the changes in his personal beliefs. In college, Mitch had set goals to do more rewarding things with his time, like joining the Peace Core. But in a society run by our economic status, Mitch had to take the road he was avoiding. The average road.

Morrie believes that people fall into an average routine and rush blindly through their lives. I think he believes that people go into life with the full intention of being unique and original, but are caught up in the material vortex that is "average".

3) I agree with Morrie's opinion. I have a personal fear of becoming average. I don't want to waste my time in that vortex. If I ever do get caught up in that vortex, I know that every I will ask myself "Is this what I want out of life? To be average?" So many people go around living their lives without being aware of the world around them. They stay in their hometowns and never have the chance to meet all of the beautiful people in the word. I cannot judge one's personal goals, maybe all they want is to live in their hometown with same people, doing the same thing everyday. But I feel that there is so much to experience in the world, and the people who stay blind to this lose a certain meaning in their lives.

4) How do we avoid the "Average Vortex"?
In my last paragraph, I stress how important it is for people to experience the world around them. Although I strongly believe this, I also understand that some people do not have the resources to do so. But there is always a way to open yourself up to others. What is not average is to help others, and that's how you can avoid it.

Acceptance

1) I accept that there are things in life I cannot change. I accept that there are people in my life that I will lose. I accept that I will live my life fearing the worst. All of these things I live with everyday, not always fully aware of them. But we all come to a point of acceptance in our lives.

2) Morrie's obvious acceptance of his impending death shows how strong of a person he is. Morrie seems to know exactly who he is. Maybe that makes his circumstances easier to accept. Even after we see him preaching to his students with such confidence, I believe Morrie must've had a blissful ignorance about it. He didn't know what death felt like.

Other than Morrie's acceptance of his own death, we look to his loved one's acceptances. From what Mitch says, we see that h is not ready to let Morrie go. Mitch, like all of the people Morrie has touched in his lifetime, seem to be less accepting of his condition than he is.

3) I feel that if I were in Morrie's position I would try my best to accept my condition. My only fear would be that I did not have the chance to experience all that I wanted to in my life. How can we accept our own departure when we aren't ready to go? How can I be sure that I have done good, that I have touched people with my life? Its easy to be sucked into the normalcy of day to day life, but if you fall know you lived it to the fullest.

4) Is acceptance the same as giving up?

The reason I ask this question is because I feel that I could never accept my own death without doubting that my life was complete. What does it take to feel complete? Complete so the we might accept our circumstances and make do with what we have.

Religion

1) Religion is a way to explain things that people could not before technology. People needed an explanation for how things came to be, and ideas vary from each religion. I don't necessarily believe that religion is important, but I do believe that some form of faith is.

2) Morrie was born into the Jewish faith. Although his father was not religious, Morrie went to synagogue every morning to be close to his deceased mother and sick brother. This was his connection to them throughout his growing up.

When Morrie get older he incorporates philosophies from all different religions into his teachings. This made him more open to his students. "He enjoyed some of the philosophies of Buddhism and Christianity, and he still felt at home, culturally, in Judaism."

3) I am Jewish. Although I don't particullarly believe in a higher being, as a member of the Jewish faith I am compelled to consider the idea of God. Isn't that simple? One thing that created our world in seven days and everything in it. I guess it doesn't really matter what you believe. But just as every religion has beliefs on "God", they aslo have beliefs on how to live your life. These are the ideas that Morrie incorprates into his teachings.

4) How important is your religion?
I share a connection to my religion not only through my worship, but also through my heritage. I am strongly connected to my family members who passed away during the Holocaust only through my faith in Judaism. Everyone shares specific connections to their religion. But if I had to either take part in religion or not, I would decide to participate. I don't think its a God that makes miracles, its the power of people coming together all believing one thing. It unites us in a bond that grows deeper than our roots. I believe that it is not what you believe in<>

Love.

1) Love is an unconditional feeling. Its a special bond that has no limits, no rational. Its not just between a boy and a girl, its anyone special to you. I believe that love can change a person. It could change them for the better or for worse, but it is a timeless feeling that never really goes away.

2) Morrie mentions when Mitch and him are having a discussion about life's push and pull that love always wins. I think that he means that no matter the circumstance there is always something to take away from love. Even if its a bad experience, love is something to be cherished, it always wins.
Morrie later add that the most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in. Morrie is learning to give and receive love in his limited time. "Love is the only rational action" Morrie quotes.

3) Love is a tricky thing. It can lead you blindly into hurt. But I believe that after you have time to recollect on your experience you'll find that any love is worth a place in your mind. A small place that will never be touched or changed. Its a comfort to those who believe they lost time by loving. So in a way, love does always win. It could cause hurt and sorrow, but it can cause joy and happiness if you let it.
The most important thing in life is to give love and be loved in return. There's no other feeling. It is a hard thing to give your heart to someone, there is always a hidden fear that that person will not take care of your heart. Love is a leap of faith. There will always be second guesses and doubts, but life goes by in seconds. Morrie is learning this through his condition.

4) Is it possible to fully give love to someone and be happy?
I have always wondered this question. I'm confused by the idea of spending your life with someone. That person would have to love all the little things, not just the obvious lovable things. Perhaps this is why we make such a big deal about dates and first impressions. Maybe we are afraid that no body could love the little things.

Intro

Dave was throwing his water bottle.