I just finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie for the second time. The first time I read it a few years ago, I was touched by the book, but I thought these words would be more easily said by an old man. It's like an old person has gone through enough, so he can compare and conclude that vanity and materialism do not matter in the end. Whereas for a young person, it would be a lot harder for him to practice what Morrie says because of social reasons, even though he might agree with Morrie's words.
On my second read, I realized I was wrong about Morrie. He didn't say those words because he was dying. He's been putting those words in action all his life, which took courage and deep insights about life. I was no longer touched by him, possibly because of my current emotional state and a lack of surprise from reading the book again. One strange thing, however, was that I couldn't help but thought Morrie was a bit creepy for being so into interpersonal intimacy. I know not only should I not think this way, but I should learn from him. For some reason, though, I just couldn't help feeling uncomfortable about a man's endless desire for physical contacts.
Morrie mentioned the difference between needs and wants. This is something I've put some thought into sometime ago. I can differentiate quite well between my needs and wants. There aren't a lot of things that I have to have. I'm also much less a materialistic person compared to my society so I don't have a lot of wants. Not physical wants, anyway. I'm thinking, do people really want to possess something physical, or are they really just longing for the spiritual pleasure of having possessed something physical? Is it the actual possession that matters, or is it the experience of having owned something that are wanted by people?
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