Dying

“You are not a wave—you are part of the ocean.”

“If you hide it [death], it generates inside you—you suffer with it.”

-       Morrie S. Schwartz

Morrie Schwartz was a sociology professor majority of his life. However, it was not until he found out that he had an incurable illness that is going to sap all his motor skills little by little until he dies that that he made a mark in the lives of everyone around him. Faced with a fate that he cannot change, Morrie changed all the negativities into positives. He saw everything around him in a new light, and he shared that light to millions of people.

As I watched one of Mr. Schwartz’s interviews with Ted Koppel, a veteran journalist, I was amazed by how positive a person can get, specially, when it seems that all the negativities in the world has come to him. Morrie has ALS or more popularly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. This disease slowly kills his neurological system until he dies. However, no matter how unfortunate his life has become, he stayed as bright as the stars in the night sky. During his interview, Morrie stated a lot of wisdom that would definitely touch anyone with a heart.

I was particularly moved by his story about two waves. In the story, a male wave was nervous about hitting a rock thinking that the impact will end his life as a wave. Then a female wave appeared and asked him what is wrong with him. After narrating, she told him not to worry and continued to tell him, “You are not a wave—you are part of the ocean!” With this, the story ended. This particular quote is my favorite among all the quotes that Morrie imparted with the public. It is true that each individual thinks only about himself. An individual acts to benefit himself. With the quote Morrie said, people could realize that no man is an island. Everyone is part of a bigger group- a bigger society. That even if one fades away, the memories he left with other people will keep him alive. This quote left a big impression on my mind: after hearing what he said, I just realized that I am, indeed, a part of a whole, and as long as that one whole does not fade, I will never fade as well.

Another quote of Morrie that I love is this: “If you hide it [death], it generates inside you—you suffer with it.” Death has always been a taboo topic. Who would want to talk about death, lest their own? Nevertheless, Mr. Schwartz was able to turn his impending death into something that benefits the people around him. In Morrie’s opinion, death is not something to hide. If you hide it, death will be inside you, making you miserable. As a person who does not think about such topics as death, I was touched. I felt that it was another take on a topic not a lot of people would even touch. What is more inspiring is that he, himself, is facing death. This means that he is genuinely taking everything from his own experience to try and change people’s perception on certain things.

Morrie Schwartz is a brave and intelligent man. He was not afraid of facing death and even used the fact that he is going to die to make other people’s lives better. After the interview, I know that I, along with the millions of people who watched it, will have lives that is never going to be the same as before.