中興大學 外國語文學系四年級 沈佳儀 To Live Again, Happily, Differently, and Meaningfully

To Live Again, Happily, Differently, and Meaningfully

Death, a taboo that no one wants to talk about or to touch, is an experience that no one has really experienced. We are concerned for everything in our lives but death. With ignorance of death, we waste a lot of time. We think that we still have plenty of time left, so we seldom use our time well. On Page 81, it is read as follows: “Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.” The two sentences are nothing less than true. If we know when the moment we say good-bye to our lives is, we will not fool around any longer, but reconsider how we can make the best use of the rest of our lifetime. We will also cherish friends and families more, spending more time with them. Death is no more an untouchable field. “Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live (Page 82).”

When it comes to our culture, we cannot but admit that we are followers to main trends in the society. We always do what other people do. For instance, more than 50 percent of people in the world seem to be following the trend of losing weight, undergoing cosmetic/plastic surgery, or pursuing fashion. All they do is to make themselves more attractive and good-looking. However, just like what is mentioned in this book, “in the end, nature takes it away from us anyhow (Page 154).” We can not completely be subject to our culture. It is essential that we ourselves determine “how we think, and what we value (Page 155).” Each of us is an individual person. Each of us is unique. Every one of us has different thoughts. We should not leave ourselves to fall a sacrifice of what the vast majority takes for granted, like fame, wealth, luxury things, and material life. We decide how we think and what we value just because it is what we exactly need and want, not because it lives up to the majority’s expectations.

As for the world, the first topic Morrie and Mitch talked about, we are far away from unselfish to care about what is happening to people in our island, let alone those living in other countries. Our primary concern is our own affairs. Of course, we are also willing to give love or offer help to friends and families. Nevertheless, it is a challenge for us to do so to strangers. We are afraid of being emotionally hurt, so we would rather arm ourselves with coldness and indifference when facing other people. We do not let love come into us, neither do we give love out. “We think if we let it in we’ll become too soft (Page 52).” In fact, being able to give love out is a blessing, so is receiving love. It would be great if we sometimes put ourselves in other people’s shoes. For example, we care more about the world. When victims or the poor need help, we give them a hand. In that way, love connects us with the world, a world in which no one is left behind.