One of the many indignities Morrie faces with respect to being dependent on others for his basic needs is his need to ring a bell when his head needs adjusted when he has to "go on the commode" (Albom, 1997, p. 56). Morrie must depend on his small army of home care workers to attend to his feeding, mobility, and toileting. Mitch thinks Morrie would be depressed over this. Morrie admits the way he handles it is to put a limit on the daily amount of mourning he allows himself. "Sometimes, in the mornings...that's when I mourn...A little each morning, a few tears, and that's all" (Albom, 1997, pp. 56-57). After this, Morrie focuses on all the positive things in his life, like his visits from Mitch and the fact he is lucky he has so long to say goodbye to his loved ones. It is primarily Morrie's attitude that permits this ability to see the positive in his otherwise dour condition, "It's only horrible if you see it that way" (Albom, 1997, p. 57).
I think there was a great degree of mutuality in the benefits stemming from Mitch and Morrie's Tuesday meetings. Morrie admits that one of the ways he copes with his illness is by thinking of these visits and of Mitch when it is Tuesdays, since they are "Tuesday people" (Albom, 1997, p. 57). Morrie is not alone because of Mitch and their visits provide him with hope and something to look forward to. However, Mitch gains much more from these visits because of the invaluable insight and wisdom he learns not only from Morrie directly but because of Morrie's illness and the way he handles it. Morrie imparts many lessons to Mitch. One of the most important is that in learning how to die one most learns how to live, "The truth is Mitch...once you learn how to die, you learn how to live" (Albom, 1997, p. 82). Albom ultimately learns that material possessions and striving for wealth can never take the place of love or good friendships. Morrie also helps Mitch understand le...