Discover a wealth of wisdom and insight from Mitch Albom through their most impactful and thought-provoking quotes and sayings. Expand your perspective with their inspiring words and share these beautiful Mitch Albom quote pictures with your friends and followers on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or your personal blog - all free of charge. We've compiled the top 785 Mitch Albom quotes for you to explore and share with others.

If the only thing wrong with Moses is that he's not yours; if the only thing wrong with Jesus is that he's not yours; if the only thing wrong with mosques, Lent, chanting, Mecca, Buddha, confession, or reincarnation is that they're not yourswell, maybe the problem is you. By Mitch Albom Thing Wrong Lent Mecca Buddha

He loved to smile. He avoided anger. He was never haunted by "Why am I here?" He knew why he was here, he said: to give to others, to celebrate God, and to enjoy and honour the world he was put in. His morning prayers began with "Thank you, Lord, for returning my soul to me." When you start that way, the rest of the day is a bonus. By Mitch Albom Smile Loved Lord God Anger

I made such a fool of myself," she lamented."Love does not make you a fool.""He didn't love me back.""That does not make you a fool, either.""Just tell me ... " Her voice cracked. "When does it stop hurting?""Sometimes never. By Mitch Albom Make Love Either Fool Lamented

My funeral," the Blue Man said. "Look at the mourners. Some did not even know me well, yet they came. Why? Did you ever wonder? Why people gather when others die? Why people feel they should?"It is because the human spirit knows, deep down, that all lives intersect. That death doesn't just take someone, it misses someone else, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed, lives are changed."You say you should have died instead of me. But during my time on earth, people died instead of me, too. It happens every day. When lightning strikes a minute after you are gone, or an airplane crashes that you might have been on. When your colleague falls ill and you do not. We think such things are random. But there is a balance to it all. One withers, another grows. Birth and death are part of a whole."It is why we are drawn to babies ... " He turned to the mourners. "And to funerals. By Mitch Albom Blue Man People Mourners Died

Take any emotion - love for a woman, or grief for a loved one, or what I'm going through, fear and pain from a deadly illness. If you hold back on the emotions - if you don't allow yourself to go all the way through them - you can never get to being detached, you're too busy being afraid. You're afraid of the pain, you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails. "But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then can you say, 'All right. I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment'. By Mitch Albom Afraid Emotion Grief Pain Woman

My old professor, meanwhile, was stunned by the normalcy of the day around him. Shouldn't the world stop? Don't they know what has happened to me?But the world did not stop, it took no notice at allMorrie's doctors guessed he had two years left. Morrie knew it was less.But my old professor had made a profound decision, one he began to construct the day he came out of the doctor's office with a sword hanging over his head. Do I wither up and disappear, or do I make the best of my time left? he had asked himself.He would not wither. He would not be ashamed of dying.Instead, he would make death his final project, the center point of his days. Since everyone was going to die, he could be of great value, right? He could be research. A human textbook. Study me in my slow and patient demise. Watch what happens to me. Learn with me.Morrie would walk that final bridge between life and death, and narrate the trip. By Mitch Albom Stop Stunned Normalcy Professor World

Have I told you about the tension of opposites? he says. The tension of opposites? Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn't. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted.A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle.Sounds like a wrestling match, I say.A wrestling match. He laughs. Yes, you could describe life that way.So which side wins, I ask?Which side wins? He smiles at me, the crinkled eyes, the crooked teeth.Love wins. Love always wins. By Mitch Albom Opposites Wins Tension Told Match

He thought about his son's stone flying across the yard, the youthful idea that you could toss away the future ifyou didn't like it - and he realized, suddenly, what he needed to do. By Mitch Albom Suddenly Yard Realized Thought Son

My friends, if we tend to the things that are important in life, if we are right with those we love and behave in line with our faith, our lives will not be cursed with the aching throb of unfulfilled business. Our words will always be sincere, our embraces will be tight. We will never wallow in the agony of 'I could have, I should have.' We can sleep in a storm. By Mitch Albom Friends Life Faith Business Tend

If we tend to the things that are important in life, if we are right with those we love, and behave in line with our faith, our lives will not be cursed with the aching throb of unfulfilled business. Our words will always be sincere, our embraces will be tight. We will never wallow in the agony of 'I could have, I should have'. We can sleep in a storm. And when its time, our goodbyes will be complete. By Mitch Albom Life Love Faith Business Tend

Whenever you have two characters in a book, whether it's a novel or nonfiction, you run the risk that the reader is going to like one more than the other. They're going to read one chapter and say, 'I can't wait to get back to the other guy.' By Mitch Albom Book Nonfiction Characters Run Risk

I think people expect too much from marriage today,' he said. 'They expect perfection. Every moment should be bliss. That's TV or movies. But that is not the human experience. ... twenty good minutes here, forty good minutes there, it adds up to something beautiful. The trick is when things aren't so great, you don't junk the whole thing. It's okay to have an argument. It's okay that the other one nudges you a little, bothers you a little. It's part of being close to someone.But the joy you get from that same closenesswhen you watch your children, when you wake up and smile at each otherthat ... is a blessing. People forget that. By Mitch Albom Today Expect Marriage Good Minutes

Sacrifice," The Captain said. "You made one. I made one. We all make them. But you were angry over yours. You kept thinking about what you lost.You didn't get it. Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to. Little sacrifices. Big sacrifices. A mother works so her son can go to school. A daughter moves home to take care of her sick father. By Mitch Albom Captain Made Sacrifice Sacrifices Make

My writing habits are pretty static. I get up every morning between 6 and 7 am, grab a cup of coffee, say a few prayers, and go downstairs to my office and start writing. By Mitch Albom Static Writing Habits Pretty Grab

There is no point in keeping vengeance or stubbornness. These things" -he sighed- "these things I so regret in my life. Pride. Vanity. Why do we do the things we do? Morrie Schwartz By Mitch Albom Stubbornness Things Point Keeping Vengeance

I love you every day. And now I will miss you every day. By Mitch Albom Day Love Miss

She hugged her arms around his chest and leaned her head into his shoulder. She did this every night, and like most small demonstrations of love, it had a large impact. Dor felt a surge of calm whenever she held him, like being wrapped in a blanket, and he knew no one else would ever love or understand him the way she did. He nestled his face into her long dark hair, and he breathed a way he never breathed except when he was with her. By Mitch Albom Shoulder Hugged Arms Chest Leaned

All parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair. By Mitch Albom Children Damage Youth Parents Helped

In the South American rainforest, there is a tribe called the Desana, who see the world as a fixed quantity of energy that flows between all creatures. Every birth must therefore engender a death, and every death brings forth another birth. This way, the energy of the world remains complete.When they hunt for food, the Desana know the animals they kill will leave a hole in the spiritual well. But that hole will be filled, they believe, by the Desana hunters when they die. Were there no men dying, there would be no birds or fish being born. I like this idea. Morrie likes it, too. The closer he gets to goodbye, the more he seems to feel we are all creatures in the same forest. What we take, we must replenish."It's only fair," he says. By Mitch Albom Desana South American World Rainforest

Over time, I guess all your teachers find their way into your music, right? By Mitch Albom Time Music Guess Teachers Find

Back in the sanctuary, the Reb concluded his taped message by saying, "Please love one another, talk to one another, don't let trivialities dissolve friendships ... " Then he sang a simple tune, which translated to: "Good-bye friends, good-bye friends, good-bye, good-bye, see you again, see you again, good-bye." The congregation, one last time, joined in. You could say it was the loudest prayer of his career. But I always knew he'd go out with a song. By Mitch Albom Goodbye Reb Friends Back Sanctuary

Here is what I know of love. It changes the way you treat me. I feel it in your hands. Your fingers. Your compositions. The sudden rush of peppy phrases, major sevenths, melody lines that resolve neatly and sweetly, like a valentine tucked in an envelope. Humans grow dizzy from new affection, and young Frankie was already dizzy when he and the mysterious girl descended from that tree. By Mitch Albom Love Dizzy Frankie Hands Treat

To know you're going to die, and to be prepared for it at any time.That's better. That way you can actually be more involved in your lifewhile you're living. By Mitch Albom Die Prepared Living Involved Lifewhile

Have you ever lost someone you love and wanted one more conversation, one more chance to make up for the time when you thought they would be here forever? If so, then you know you can go your whole life collecting days, and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back. By Mitch Albom Conversation Forever Lost Love Wanted

I never said good-bye.''Such a needless word, she said, 'when you love somebody. By Mitch Albom Word Needless Love

The problem, Mitch, is that we don't believe we are as much alike as we are. Whites and blacks, Catholics and Protestants, men and women. If we saw each other as more alike, we might be very eager to join in one big human family in this world, and to care about that family the way we care about our own.But believe me, when you are dying, you see it is true. We all have the same beginning - birth - and we all have the same end - death. So how different can we be?Invest in the human family. Invest in people. Build a little community of those you love and who love you.Morrie Schwartz By Mitch Albom Mitch Family Problem Invest Alike

You see, here's my theory: Kids chase the love that eludes them, and for me, that was my father's love. He kept it tucked away, like papers in a briefcase. And I kept trying to get in there. By Mitch Albom Kids Love Theory Chase Eludes

Eddie told her he had made things square and her eyebrows lifted and her lips spread and Eddie felt and old, warm feeling he had missed for years, the simple act of making his wife happy By Mitch Albom Eddie Warm Years Happy Told

What if I lose you?" "You can't lose your mother, Charley. By Mitch Albom Charley Lose Mother

If you're trying to show off for people at the top, forget it. They will look down on you anyhow. And if you're trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone. By Mitch Albom Forget Show People Top Bottom

He tells my parents how I took every class he taught. He tells them, "You have a special boy here." Embarrassed, I look at my feet. Before we leave, I hand my professor a present, a tan briefcase with his initials on the front. I bought this the day before at a shopping mall. I didn't want to forget him. Maybe I didn't want him to forget me."Mitch, you are one of the good ones," he says, admiring the briefcase. Then he hugs me. I feel his thin arms around my back. I am taller than he is, and when he holds me, I feel awkward, older, as if I were the parent and he were the child.He asks if I will stay in touch, and without hesitation I say, "Of course." When he steps back, I see that he is crying. By Mitch Albom Taught Class Forget Briefcase Back

I believe in being fully present," Morrie said. "That means you should be with the person you're with. When I'm talking to you now, Mitch, I try to keep focused only on what is going on between us. I am not thinking about something we said last week. I am not thinking of what's coming up this Friday. I am not thinking about doing another Koppel show, or about what medications I'm taking. I am talking to you. I am thinking about you. By Mitch Albom Morrie Thinking Present Fully Mitch

I HAVE A HEARTBURN AND DIAHREA AT THE MOMENTLIFE'S ABITCH. CHAT LATER?[signed] SORE TUSH By Mitch Albom Abitch Heartburn Diahrea Signed Chat

The problem is that we don't believe that we are much alike as we are. Whites and blacks, Catholic and Protestants, men and women. If we saw each other as more alike, we might be very eager to join in one human family in this world, and to care about that family the way we care about our own. By Mitch Albom Problem Alike Catholic Protestants Care

Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creatures endures. A fear of time running out. By Mitch Albom Man Timekeeping Time Fear Birds

The truth is, part of me is every age. I'm a three-year-old, I'm a five-year-old, I'm a thirty-seven-year-old, I'm a fifty-year-old. I've been through all of them, and I know what it's like. I delight in being a child when it's appropriate to be a child. I delight in being a wise old man when it's appropriate to be a wise old man. Think of all I can be! I am every age, up to my own. By Mitch Albom Part Truth Age Delight Wise

But it's hard to explain, Mitch. Now that I'm suffering, I feel closer to people who suffer than I ever did before. The other night, on TV, I saw people in Bosnia running across the street, getting fired upon, killed, innocent victims ... and I just started to cry. I feel their anguish as if it were my own. I don't know any of these people. Buthow can I put this?I'm almost ... drawn to them. By Mitch Albom Mitch People Explain Hard Feel

So many times, I had chosen not to be with her. Too busy. Too tires. Don't feel like dealing with it. Church? No thanks. Sinner? Sorry. Come down to visit? Can't do it, maybe next week. By Mitch Albom Times Chosen Church Busy Sinner

You'll come to my grave? To tell me your problems?"My problems?"Yes.'And you'll give me answers?"I'll give you what I can. Don't I always?"I picture his grave, on the hill, overlooking the pond, some little nine foot piece of earth where they will place him, cover him with dirt, put a stone on top. Maybe in a few weeks? Maybe in a few days? I see myself sitting there alone, arms across my knees, staring into space.It won't be the same, I say, not being able to hear you talk."Ah, talk ... "He closes his eyes and smiles."Tell you what. After I'm dead, you talk. And I'll listen. By Mitch Albom Grave Problems Yes Give Talk

When I give my time, when I can make someone smile after they were feeling sad, it's as close to healthy as I ever feel.Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be longing for somebody else's things. On the contrary, you'll be overwhelmed with what comes back. By Mitch Albom Time Sad Heart Things Give

At that moment i felt lonelier than i'd ever felt before, and that loneliness seemed to squat in my lungs and crush all but my most minimal breathing. There was nothing left to say. Not about this. Not about anything. By Mitch Albom Felt Breathing Moment Lonelier Loneliness

As my visits with Morrie go on, I begin to read about death, how different cultures view the final passage. There is a tribe in the North American Arctic, for example, who believe that all things on earth have a soul that exists in a miniature form of the body that hold it -so that a deer has a tiny deer inside it, and a man has a tiny man inside him. When the large being dies, that tiny form lives on. It can slide into something being born nearby, or it can go to a temporary resting place in the sky, in the belly of a great feminine spirit, where it waits until the moon can send it back to earth.Sometimes, they say, the moon is so busy with the new souls of the world that it disappears from the sky. That is why we have moonless nights. But in the end, the moon always returns, as do we all.That is what they believe. By Mitch Albom Morrie Tiny Moon Death Passage

We're teaching the wrong things. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it. Create your own. By Mitch Albom Things Teaching Wrong Work Create

The word 'commitment' has lost it's meaning. I'm old enough to remember when it used to be positive. A commited person was someone to be admired. He was loyal and steady. Now a commitment is something you avoid. You don't want to tie yourself down ... By Mitch Albom Word Meaning Lost Commitment Positive

Everyone knows they're going to die, but nobody believes it ... So we kid ourselves about death ... But there's a better approach. To know you're going to dies, and to be prepared for it at any time ... Do what the Buddhists do ... ask, Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be? By Mitch Albom Die Dies Death Buddhists Kid

Mortality means you don't have forever to work things out. You can live your life unexamined but then on the last day you're going to think: 'I've left things a little late.' By Mitch Albom Mortality Things Forever Work Late

No. You can't work your way into heaven. Anytime you try and justify yourself with works, you disqualify yourself with works. What I do here, every day, for the rest of my life, is only my way of saying, 'Lord, regardless of what eternity holds for me, let me give something back to you. I know it doesn't even no scorecard. But let me make something of my life before I go.. and then, Lord, I'm at your mercy. By Mitch Albom Lord Heaven Works Life Work

What about a man who sits down to wonderWhy life has cheated him?Thinks about his situationHangs his head and criesWill we pretend, his problems don't exist?He's reaching out for help-will we selfishly resist?What about your brother? He's cryingWhat about your brother? He's dyingWhat about your brother? By Mitch Albom Brother Pretend Exist Resist Man

EVERYONE JOINS A BAND IN THIS LIFE. You are born into your first one. Your mother plays the lead. She shares the stage with your father and siblings. Or perhaps your father is absent, an empty stool under a spotlight. But he is still a founding member, and if he surfaces one day, you will have to make room for him. As life goes on, you will join other bands, some through friendship, some through romance, some through neighborhoods, school, an army. Maybe you will all dress the same, or laugh at your own private vocabulary. Maybe you will flop on couches backstage, or share a boardroom table, or crowd around a galley inside a ship. But in each band you join, you will play a distinct part, and it will affect you as much as you affect it. And, as is usually the fate with bands, most of them will break up - through distance, differences, divorce, or death. By Mitch Albom Life Join Father Band Bands

What in life can love not penetrate? Mabel Hubbard, deaf since childhood, gave Alexander Bell a piano as a wedding gift and asked that he play it for her every day, as if his music could pierce her silence. Decades later, at Bell's deathbed, it was his wife who made the sounds, saying the words, "Don't leave me," while he, no longer able to talk, used sign language to answer, No. By Mitch Albom Penetrate Bell Hubbard Life Love

Time," the Captain said, "is not what you think." He sat down next to Eddie. "Dying? Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happens on earth is only the beginning. By Mitch Albom Time Captain Dying Eddie Sat

His plans never worked out. In time,he found himself graying and wearing looser pants and in a state of weary acceptance, that this was who he was and who he would always be, a man with sand in his shoes in a world of mechanical laughter By Mitch Albom Plans Worked Acceptance Laughter Timehe

Before I entered the service, all I did was take orders. Next thing I knew, I was giving them.Peacetime was one thing. Got a lot of wise guy recruits. But then the war started and the new men flooded in- young men, like you- and they were all saluting me, wanting me to tell them what to do. I could see the fear in their eyes. They acted as if I knew something about war that was classified. They thought I could keep them alive. You did too, didn't you?'Eddie had to admit he did.The Captain reached back and rubbed his neck. 'I couldn't, of course. I took my orders, too. But if I couldn't keep you alive, I thought I could at least keep you together. In the middle of a big war, you go looking for a small idea to believe in. When you find one, you hold it the way a soldier holds his crucifix when he's praying in a foxhole.For me, that little idea was what I told you guys every day. No one gets left behind. By Mitch Albom Service War Thing Entered Knew

Fairness, he said, 'does not govern life and death. If it did, no good person would ever die young. By Mitch Albom Fairness Death Govern Life Young

Instead, he would make death his final project, the center point of his days. Since everyone was going to die, he could be of great value, right? He could be research. A human textbook. Study me in my slow and patient demise. Watch what happens to me. Learn with me. By Mitch Albom Project Days Make Death Final

He was pitching to me before I could walk. He gave me wooden bat before my mother let me use scissors. He said I could make the major leagues one day if I had "a plan," and if I "stuck to the plan"Of course, when you're that young, you nest in your parents' plans, not your own. By Mitch Albom Walk Pitching Plan Scissors Plans

He mentioned a dear friend Morrie had, Maurie Stein, who had first sent Morrie's aphorisms to the Boston Globe. They had been together at Brandeis since the early sixties. Now Stein was going deaf. Koppel imagined the two men together one day, one unable to speak, the other unable to hear. What would that be like?"We will hold hands," Morrie said. "And there'll be a lot of love passing between us. Ted, we've had thirty-five years of friendship. You don't need speech or hearing to feel that. By Mitch Albom Maurie Globe Boston Morrie Stein

We all have same beginning (BIRTH), and we will have same ending (DEATH). So how different can we be? By Mitch Albom Birth Death Beginning Ending

I don't know what it is about food your mother makes for you, especially when it's something that anyone can make - pancakes, meat loaf, tuna salad - but it carries a certain taste of memory. By Mitch Albom Pancakes Meat Loaf Tuna Salad

He leaned in close. He saw his father's dirty hands. He spoke the last familiar words in a whisper.Its' fixed. By Mitch Albom Close Leaned Fixed Hands Father

In this culture, it's so important to find a loving relationship with someone because so much of the culture does not give you that. But the poor kids today, either they're too selfish to take part in a real loving relationship, or they rush into marriage and then six months later, they get divorced. They don't know what they want in a partner. They don't know who they are themselves - so how can they know who they're marrying? By Mitch Albom Culture Loving Relationship Important Find

Einstein once postulated that if you traveled at an enormous rate of speed, time would actually slow down relative to the world you left behind,so that seeing the future without aging alongside it was at least theoretically, possible. By Mitch Albom Einstein Speed Time Theoretically Postulated

I used to think I knew everything. I was a "smart person" who "got things done," and because of that, the higher I climbed, the more I could look down and scoff at what seemed silly or simple, even religion.But I realized something as I drove home that night: that I am neither better nor smarter, only luckier. And I should be ashamed of thinking I knew everything, because you can know the whole world and still feel lost in it. So many people are in pain-no matter how smart or accomplished-they cry, they yearn, they hurt.But instead of looking down on things, they look up, which is where I should have been looking, too. Because when the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the same things:comfort, love, and a peaceful heart. By Mitch Albom Knew Things Smart World Person

Remember what I said about finding a meaningful life? I wrote it down, but now I can recite it: Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. "You notice" he added, grinning, "there's nothing in there about a salary. By Mitch Albom Devote Remember Life Finding Meaningful

So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. By Mitch Albom Devote People Walk Meaningless Life

The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. I By Mitch Albom Devote Meaning Life Loving Community

The way you get meaning into life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. (43) By Mitch Albom Devote Meaning Life Loving Creating

When a baby comes into the world, its hands are clenched, right? Like this?" He made a fist. "Why? Because a baby not knowing any better, wants to grab everything, to say the whole world is mine. But when an old person dies, how does he do so? With his hands open. Why? Because he has learned his lesson." "What lesson?" I asked. He stretched open his empty fingers. "We can take nothing with us. By Mitch Albom Clenched Baby World Lesson Hands

The story of my recent life.' I like that phrase. It makes more sense than 'the story of my life', because we get so many lives between birth and death. A life to be a child. A life to come of age. A life to wander, to settle, to fall in love, to parent, to test our promise, to realize our mortality- and in some lucky cases, to do something after that realization. By Mitch Albom Life Story Recent Phrase Death

Tell me about your family, I said. And so she did. I listened intently as my mother went through each branch of the tree. Years later, after the funeral, Maria had asked me questions about the family - who was related to whom - and I struggled. I couldn't remember. A big chunk of our history had been buried with my mother. You should never let your past disappear that way. By Mitch Albom Family Mother Maria Tree Years

Having more does not keep you from wanting more. And if you always want more - to be richer, more beautiful, more well known - you are missing the bigger picture, and I can tell you from experience, happiness will never come By Mitch Albom Wanting Richer Beautiful Picture Experience

There was a pier filled with thousands of people, men and women, fathers and mothers and childrenso many childrenchildren from the past and the present, children who had not yet been born, side by side, hand in hand, in caps, in short pants, filling the boardwalk and the rides and the wooden platforms, sitting on each other's shoulders, sitting in each other's laps. They were there, or would be there, becuause of the simple mundane things [he] had done in his life, the accidents he had prevented, the rides he had kept safe, the unnoticed turns he had affected every day. And while their lips did not move, [he] heard their voices, more voices then he could have imagined, and a peace came upon him that he had never known before. By Mitch Albom Sitting Side Hand Rides People

Sully: I never said good-byeGiselle: Such a needless word when you love somebody By Mitch Albom Sully Goodbyegiselle Needless Word Love

Once, when Giselle was alive, he thought about the future. Now he only thought about the past. By Mitch Albom Giselle Alive Future Thought Past

He had recorded a message to be played upon his death. He had told no one - except Teela, his shopping companion and health care worker, who delivered the tape to his family. It was brief. But in it, the Reb answered the two questions he had most been asked in his life of faith. One was whether he believed in God. He said he did. The other was whether there is life after death. On this he said, "My answer here, too, is yes, there is something. But friends, I'm sorry. Now that I know, I can't even tell you." The whole place broke up laughing. By Mitch Albom Recorded Message Played Teela Death

A wind blew, and the sand around his drawing scattered. He wrapped his fingers inside his wife's, and Father Time rekindled a connection he had only ever had with her. He surrendered to that sensation and felt the final drops of their lives touch one another, like water in a cave, top meets bottom, Heaven meets Earth.As their eyes closed, a different set of eyes opened, and they rose from the ground as a shared south, up and up, a sun and a moon in a single sky. By Mitch Albom Blew Scattered Wind Sand Drawing

I meant no disrespect. It's just that I had always felt that rabbis, priests, pastors, any cleric, really, lived on a plane between mortal ground and heavenly sky. God up there. Us down here. Them in between. By Mitch Albom Disrespect Priests Pastors Meant Rabbis

Love her or some other guy will.Love like there is no tomorrow, cause there may not be.Never take what/who you have for granted cause it will end up turning into something you had.Do what it takes to keep her happy at any cost to you're pride.Treat her like she is you're queen & She will make you feel like a king.Love lost is more painful than an unhappy marriage. By Mitch Albom Love Tomorrow Queen Marriage Guy

Katherine would later reason that if anything were going to take away her beautiful, funny, precious older sister, it would be that her heart was so big, it exploded. By Mitch Albom Funny Katherine Beautiful Precious Sister

Morrie talked about his most fearful moments, when he felt his chest locked in heaving surges or when he wasn't sure where his next breath would come from. These horrifying times, he said, and his first emotions were horror, fear, anxiety. But once he recognized the feel of those emotions, their texture, their moisture, the shiver down the back, the quick flash of heat that crosses your brain - then he was able to say, Okay,. This is fear. Step away from it. Step away. By Mitch Albom Morrie Moments Fear Talked Fearful

Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can't. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. an alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out. By Mitch Albom Imagine Life Time Timekeeping Man

A funeral is no place for secrets. By Mitch Albom Secrets Funeral Place

She explains that lost love is still love.Life has to end but love doesn't By Mitch Albom Love Explains Lost Lovelife End

Still what I miss most, simple and maybe selfish as it sounds, is the twinkle in Morrie's eyes when I came in the room. But When someone is happy-genuninely happy-to see you, it melts you from the start. It is like going home. By Mitch Albom Morrie Simple Sounds Room Miss

But a desperate heart will seduce the mind. By Mitch Albom Mind Desperate Heart Seduce

Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, 'Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person i want to be? Is today the day I die? By Mitch Albom Day Today Bird Shoulder Ready

Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, 'Is today the day? Am I read? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person i want to be?'" He turned his head to his shoulder as if the bird were there now. "Is today the day I die?" he said. By Mitch Albom Buddhists Day Today Bird Shoulder

Love like rain, can nourish from above, drenching couples with soaking joy. But sometimes, under the angry heat of life, love dries on the surface and must nourish from below, tending to its roots, keeping itself alive. By Mitch Albom Love Rain Drenching Joy Nourish

Young men go to war. Sometimes because they have to, sometimes because they want to. Always, they feel they are supposed to. This comes from the sad, layered stories of life, which over the centuries have seen courage confused with picking up arms, and cowardice confused with laying them down. By Mitch Albom Young War Men Confused Sad

Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive, that you understand going to die, and you live a better life because of it. By Mitch Albom Aging Decay Die Growth Positive

I needed help. Why didn't you help me? ... God ... forgives me. Why didn't you? By Mitch Albom Needed God Forgives

Only God can write the end of your story. By Mitch Albom God Story Write End

But what if someone from another faith won't recognize yours? Or wants you dead for it?"That is not faith. That is hate." He sighed. "And if you ask me, God sits up there and cries when that happens. By Mitch Albom Faith Recognize God Hate Dead

She felt worthless and hollow. There was no hope of fixing this.And when hope is gone, time is punishment. By Mitch Albom Hollow Felt Worthless Hope Time

And thus, unknowingly, did Dor begin to serve his sentence - to hear every plea from every soul who desired more of the thing he had first identified, the thing that moved man further from the simple light of existence and deeper into the darkness of his own obsessions. Time. It seemed to be running too fast for everyone but him. By Mitch Albom Thing Dor Unknowingly Sentence Identified

What would you give to remember everything? I have this power. I absorb your memories; when you hear me, you relive them. A first dance. A wedding. The song that played when you got the big news. No other talent gives your By Mitch Albom Remember Power Memories Dance Wedding

There's a big confusion in this country over what we want versus what we need," Morrie said. "You need food, you want a chocolate sundae. You have to be honest with yourself. You don't need the latest sports car, you don't need the biggest house. The truth is, you don't get satisfaction from those things. You know what really gives you satisfaction? ... Offering others what you have to give ... I don't mean money, Mitch. I mean your time. Your concern. Your storytelling. It's not so hard. By Mitch Albom Morrie Big Confusion Country Versus

Listen. You should know something. All younger people should know something. If you're always battling against getting older, you're always going to be unhappy, because it will happen anyhow. By Mitch Albom Listen Older Unhappy Younger People

I hope you never hear those words. Your mom. She died. They are different than other words. They are too big to fit in your ears. They belong to some strange, heavy, powerful language that pounds away at the side of your head, a wrecking ball coming at you again and again, until finally, the words crack a hole large enough to fit inside your brain. And in so doing, they split you apart. By Mitch Albom Words Hope Hear Fit Mom

I [Music] was born in the open air, in the breaks of waves and the whistling of sandstorms, the hoots of owls and the cackles of tui birds. I travel in echoes. I ride the breeze. I was forged in nature, rugged and raw. Only man shapes my edges to make me beautiful. [Chapter 2] By Mitch Albom Music Air Sandstorms Birds Born

How do you let go of anger? How do you release a fury you've been standing on for so long, you would stumble if it were yanked away? As Sully sat in his old room, holding the letter, he felt himself lifting off from his bitterness, the way one lifts off in a dream. Elliot Gray, an enemy for so long, was now seen differently, a man forgivable for his mistake. By Mitch Albom Anger Long Gray Sully Release

Be satisfied. Be grateful. For what you have. For what the love you received. And for what God has given you By Mitch Albom Satisfied Grateful God Received Love

People say they 'find' love, as if it were an object hidden by a rock. But love takes many forms, and it is never the same for any man and woman. What people find then is a certain love. And [he] found a certain love with [her], a grateful love, a deep but quiet love, one that he knew, above all else, was irreplaceable. By Mitch Albom Love Rock People Find Object

Adam hid in the Garden of Eden. Moses tried to substitute his brother. Jonah jumped a boat and was swallowed by a whale ... Man likes to run from God. It's a tradition. By Mitch Albom Eden Garden Adam Hid God

Reading "For One More Day". Nothing interesting happened yet. Exciting to keep reading. By Mitch Albom Day Reading Exciting Interesting Happened

That kind of love - the kind you realize you already have by the life you've created together - that's the kind that lasts. By Mitch Albom Kind Love Realize Life Created

When someone is in your heart, they're never truly gone. They can come back to you, even at unlikely times. By Mitch Albom Heart Times Back

My father moved through theys of we, singing each new leaf out of each tree, (and every child was sure that spring danced when she heard my father sing) ... By Mitch Albom Father Singing Tree Sing Moved

I see your face in every flower, your eyes in stars above, it's just the thought of you, the very thought of you, my love ... By Mitch Albom Thought Flower Love Face Eyes

It is because the human spirit knows, deep down, that all lives intersect. That death doesn't just take someone, it misses someone else, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed, lives are changed."" ... We think such thngs are random. But there is a balance to it all. One withers, another grows. Birth and death are part of a whole." "It is why we are drawn to babies ... " "And to funerals. By Mitch Albom Deep Intersect Lives Human Spirit

We all lose somebody we care about and want to find some comforting way of dealing with it, something that will give us a little closure, a little peace. By Mitch Albom Closure Peace Lose Care Find

In every artist's life, there comes a person who lifts thecurtain on creativity. It is the closest you come to seeingme again.The first time, when you emerge from the womb, I am abrilliant color in the rainbow of human talents from whichyou choose. Later, when a special someone lifts the curtain,you feel that chosen talent stirring inside you, a burstingpassion to sing, paint, dance, bang on drums. And you are never the same. By Mitch Albom Life Creativity Artist Person Thecurtain

He would close his eyes and with a blissful smile begin to move to his own sense of rhythm. It wasn't always pretty. But then, he didn't worry about a partner. Morrie danced by himself. By Mitch Albom Rhythm Close Eyes Blissful Smile

Love lost, is still love ... You can't see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. By Mitch Albom Love Lost Floor Memory Weaken

Lost love is still love, Eddie. It takes a different form, that's all. You can't see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. "Life has to end," she said. "Love doesn't. By Mitch Albom Eddie Lost Love Memory Dance

Lost love is still love. It takes a different form, that's all. You can't see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. By Mitch Albom Love Lost Memory Dance Form

There is a time for hello and a time for good-bye. It's why the act of burying thing seems natural, but the act of digging them up does not. By Mitch Albom Time Goodbye Act Natural Burying

I also believe that parents, if they love you, will hold you up safely, above their swirling waters, and sometimes that means you'll never know what they endured, and you may treat them unkindly, in a way you otherwise wouldn't. By Mitch Albom Parents Safely Waters Endured Unkindly

The most inspirational man I knew only reached his potential by helping a child reach his. By Mitch Albom Inspirational Man Knew Reached Potential

Sometimes when you're losing someone, you hang on to whatever tradition you can. By Mitch Albom Losing Hang Tradition

But everyone knows someone who has died, I said. Why is it so hard to think about dying?'Because,' Morrie continued, 'most of us walk around as if we're sleepwalking. We really don't experience the world fully, because we're half asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do.'And facing death changes all that?'Oh, yes. You strip away all that stuff and you focus on the essentials. When you realize you are going to die, you see everything much differently.'He sighed. 'Learn how to die, and you learn how to live. By Mitch Albom Died Die Morrie Learn Dying

The news of life is carried via telephone. A baby's birth, a couple engaged, a tragic car accident on a late night highway - most milestones of the human journey, good or bad, are foreshadowed by the sound of a ringing. By Mitch Albom Telephone Life Carried Birth Engaged

In order to move on, you must understand why you felt what you did and why you no longer need to feel it. By Mitch Albom Order Move Understand Felt Longer

Now you know how badly someone wanted you, Charley. Children forget that sometimes. They think of themselves as a burden instead of a wish granted. By Mitch Albom Charley Badly Wanted Children Granted

A military chaplain told me the following story:"'A soldier's little girl, whose father was being moved to a distant post, was sitting at the airport among her family's meager belongings."The girl was sleepy. She leaned against the packs and duffel bags."A lady came by, stopped, and patted her on the head."'Poor child,' she said. 'You haven't got a home.'"The child looked up in surprise."But we do have a home,' she said. 'We just don't have a house to put it in. By Mitch Albom Girl Story Post Belongings Sleepy

At I Am My Brother's Keeper, there were no dues, no drives, no singles nights. Membership grew the old-fashioned way: a desperate need for God. By Mitch Albom Keeper Brother Dues Drives Nights

But she wasn't around, and that's the thing when your parents die, you feel like instead of going in to every fight with backup, you are going into every fight alone. By Mitch Albom Fight Die Backup Thing Parents

Same for loneliness: you let go, let the tears flow, feel it completelybut eventually be able to say, All right, that was my moment of loneliness. I'm not afraid of feeling lonely, but now I'm going to put loneliness aside and know that there are other emotions in the world, and I'm going to experience them all. By Mitch Albom Flow Feel Loneliness Tears Completelybut

When you look into your mother's eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth. By Mitch Albom Eyes Earth Mother Purest Love

Soon man will count all his days, and then smaller segments of the day, and then smaller still - until the counting consumes him, and the wonder of the world he has been given is lost. By Mitch Albom Smaller Lost Days Day Man

As mankind grew obsessed with its hours, the sorrow of lost time became a permanent hole in the human heart. People fretted over missed chances, over inefficient days; they worried constantly about how long they would live, because counting life's moments had led, inevitably, to counting them down. Soon, in every nation and in every language, time became the most precious commodity. By Mitch Albom Hours Heart Time Mankind Grew

I begin to call Morrie "Coach," the way I used to address my high school track coach. Morrie likes the nickname. "Coach," he says. "All right, I'll be your coach. And you can be my player. You can play all the lovely parts of life that I'm too old for now. By Mitch Albom Coach Morrie Begin Call Address

Mothers support certain illusions about their children, and one of my illusions was that I liked who I was, because she did. When she passed away, so did that idea. By Mitch Albom Mothers Children Illusions Support Idea

The most important elements of faith [are] believing in something bigger than yourself, taking care of those less fortunate than you. By Mitch Albom Faith Believing Taking Important Elements

Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone. By Mitch Albom Love Alive Stay

Every life has one true love snapshot. By Mitch Albom Snapshot Life True Love

I didn't want to be ordinary," I mumbled.My mother looked up. "What ordinary, Charley?""You know. Someone you forget."From the other room came the squeals of children. Miss Thelma turned her chin to the sound. She smiled,"That's what keeps me from being forgotten. By Mitch Albom Ordinary Charley Mumbledmy Mother Looked

By the way, Reb, about the singing. What gives? Walt Whitman sang the body electric. Billie Holiday sang the blues. You sang ... everything. You could sing the phone book. I would call and say how are you feeling, and you'd answer, The old gray rabbi, ain't what he used to be ... By Mitch Albom Reb Singing Sang Whitman Holiday

You can't substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship By Mitch Albom Comradeship Substitute Material Things Love

you should never take anything for granted. By Mitch Albom Granted

We're so wrapped up with egotistical things, career, family, having enough money, meeting the mortgage, getting a new car, fixing the radiator when it breaks - we're involved in trillions of little acts just to keep going. So we don't get into the habit of standing back and looking at our lives and saying, Is this all? Is this all I want? Is something missing? He By Mitch Albom Career Family Things Money Meeting

In heaven, there is no judgment, but rather an opportunity to examine our lives-who we touched, the choices we made, and the consequences of those choices. -Blue Man By Mitch Albom Heaven Judgment Touched Made Choices

Dear friends. I'm dying. "Don't be upset. I began to die on July 6, 1917. That's the day I was born, and, in council with what our psalmist says, 'We who are born, are born to die. By Mitch Albom Dear Friends Born Die July

There is nothing more fun than hanging around with friends and banging on instruments. Anyone who has ever done it knows that this is true. By Mitch Albom Instruments Fun Hanging Friends Banging

I didn't want to forget him. Maybe I didn't want him to forget me. By Mitch Albom Forget

The Reb once did a sermon on how the same things in life can be good or evil, depending on what, with free will, we do with them. Speech can bless or curse. Money can save or destroy. Science can heal or kill. Even nature can work against you: fire can warm or burn, water can sustain life or flood it away. By Mitch Albom Reb Evil Depending Sermon Things

You loved to teach. In time, you tried the rabbinate. And you failed. But a great Jewish scholar said two words you would later invoke many times with many of us: "try again." And you did. Thank God you did. By Mitch Albom Teach Loved Jewish Rabbinate God

ALS is like a lit candle: it melts your nerves and leaves your body a pile of wax. By Mitch Albom Als Candle Wax Lit Melts

This is the greatest gift God can give you: to understand what happened in your life. To have it explained. It is the peace you have been searching for. By Mitch Albom God Life Greatest Gift Give

Life is a series of pulls back and forth ... A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. Most of us live somewhere in the middle. A wrestling match ... Which side win? Love wins. Love always wins By Mitch Albom Life Series Back Wins Love

Giving to other people is what makes me feel alive. Not my car or not my house. Not what I look in the mirror. When I give my time, when I can make someone smile after they were feeling sad, it's as close to healthy as I ever feel. By Mitch Albom Giving Alive People Feel House

Giving to other people makes me feel alive. Not my car or my house. Not what I look like in the mirror. When I give my time, when I can make someone smile after they were feeling sad ... By Mitch Albom Giving Alive People Feel House

There is no experience like having children.' That's all. There is no substitute for it. You cannot do it with a friend. You cannot do it with a lover. If you want the experience of having complete responsibility for another human being, and to learn how to love and bond in the deepest way, then you should have children. By Mitch Albom Children Experience Friend Lover Substitute

But Father Time is real. And, in truth, he cannot age. Beneath the unruly beard and cascading hair - signs of life, not death - his body is lean, his skin unwrinkled, immune to the very thing he lords over. By Mitch Albom Father Time Real Truth Age

Sometimes during the night, your father awakened. He rose from his bed, staggered across the room, and found the strength to raise the window sash. He called your mother's name with what little voice he had, and he called yours, too, and your brother, Joe. And he called for Mickey. At that moment, it seemed, his heart was spilling out, all the guilt and regret. Perhaps he felt the light of death approaching. Perhaps he only knew you were all out there somewhere, in the streets beneath his window. He bent over the ledge. The night was chilly. The wind and damp, in his state, were too much. He was dead before dawn. By Mitch Albom Called Awakened Father Night Joe

What's wrong with being number 2? By Mitch Albom Number Wrong

Stay with me.""Forever. By Mitch Albom Forever Stay

But behind all your stories is always your mother's story, because hers is where yours begins. By Mitch Albom Story Begins Stories Mother

The next morning, shortly after sunrise, the Reb was awakened for a sponge bath. It was quiet and early. The nurse bathed him gently, and he was singing and humming to her, alive with the day. Then his head slumped and his music stopped forever. By Mitch Albom Reb Morning Shortly Sunrise Bath

The second death. To think that you died and no one would remember you. I wondered if this was why we tried so hard to make our mark in America. To be known. Think of how important celebrity has become. We sing to get famous; expose our worst secrets to get famous; lose weight, eat bugs, even commit murder to get famous. Our young people post their deepest thoughts on public web sites. They run cameras from their bedrooms. It's as if we are screaming Notice Me! Remember Me! Yet the notoriety barely lasts. Names quickly blur and in time are forgotten. By Mitch Albom Famous Death America Remember Notice

I used to be a classic workaholic, and after seeing how little work and career really mean when you reach the end of your life, I put a new emphasis on things I believe count more. These things include: family, friends, being part of a community, and appreciating the little joys of the average day. By Mitch Albom Workaholic Life Things Classic Work

Have you ever really had a teacher? One who saw you as a raw but precious thing, a jewel that, with wisdom, could be polished to a proud shine? By Mitch Albom Teacher Thing Wisdom Shine Raw

Will share a secret: this is how talents are bestowed. Before newborns open their eyes, we circle them, appearing as brilliant colors, and when they clench their tiny hands for the first time, they are actually grabbing the colors they find most appealing. Those talents are with them for life. The lucky ones (well, in my opinion, the lucky ones) choose me. Music. By Mitch Albom Secret Bestowed Talents Share Colors

Because, from the beginning , God said, 'I'm gonna put this world into your hands. If I run everything, then that's not you.' So we were created with a piece of divinity inside us, but with this thing called free will, and I think God watches us everyday, lovingly, praying we will make the right choices. By Mitch Albom Beginning Hands God Gonna Put

I shot you, all right," he said, "and you lost something, but you gained something as well. You just don't know it yet. I gained something, too."What?"I got to keep my promise. I didn't leave you behind. By Mitch Albom Gained Shot Lost Too Promise

There are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike.' - Morrie Schwartz By Mitch Albom Trouble Gonna Lot Marriage Person

Holding anger is a poison ... It eats you from inside ... We think that by hating someone we hurt them ... But hatred is a curved blade ... and the harm we do to others ... we also do to ourselves. By Mitch Albom Holding Poison Anger Inside Eats

Lost love is still love, Eddie. It just takes a different form, that's all. You can't hold their hand... You can't tousle their hair... But when those senses weaken another one comes to life... Memory... Memory becomes your partner. You hold it... you dance with it... Life has to end, Eddie... Love doesn't. By Mitch Albom Eddie Lost Love Memory Hold

She wanted to melt into the ground at that moment, just hot wax into a puddle and disappear through a sewer grate. His eyes. That look. No interest. Total humiliation By Mitch Albom Moment Grate Wanted Melt Ground

We really don't experience the world fully, because we're half-asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do."And facing death changes that?"Oh, yes. You strip away all that stuff and you focus on the essentials. By Mitch Albom Fully Halfasleep Experience World Things

Why is it so hard to think about dying? "Because," Morrie continued, "most of us all walk around as if we're sleepwalking. We really don't experience the world fully, because we're half-asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do." And facing death changes all that? "Oh, yes. You strip away all that stuff and you focus on the essentials. When you realize you are going to die, you see everything much differently. By Mitch Albom Dying Hard Morrie Continued Sleepwalking

I think, in general, the sports I've enjoyed covering the most have been the offbeat ones. The more popular, mainstream, the less I like them because they're more, they're more structured and the players don't have much interesting to say because they're interviewed all the time. By Mitch Albom General Sports Enjoyed Covering Offbeat

What do you do when you lose a loved one too quickly? When you have no time to prepare before, suddenly, that soul is gone? By Mitch Albom Quickly Lose Loved Suddenly Time

There is everything you know and there is everything that happens. When the two do not line up, you make a choice. By Mitch Albom Choice Line Make

Look, no matter where you live, the biggest defect we human beings have is our shortsightedness. We don't see what we could be. We should be looking at our potential, stretching ourselves into everything we can become. But if you're surrounded by people who say 'I want mine now,' you end up with a few people with everything and a military to keep the poor ones from rising up and stealing it. By Mitch Albom Live Shortsightedness Matter Biggest Defect

Have you found someone to share your heart with? Are you giving to your community? Are you at peace with yourself? Are you trying to be as human as you can be? By Mitch Albom Found Share Heart Community Giving

Taffy. He thinks about taffy. He thinks it would take his teeth out now, but he would eat it anyhow, if it meant eating it with her. By Mitch Albom Taffy Teeth Eat Meant Eating

A heart weighs more when it splits in two; it crashes in the chest like a broken plane. Sarah dragged her wreckage back to the house up to her bedroom, and down into a deep, dark hole. By Mitch Albom Plane Heart Weighs Splits Crashes

Ted," he said, "when all this started, I asked myself, 'Am I going to withdraw from the world, like most people do, or am I going to live?" I decided I'm going to live-or at least try to live-the way I want, with dignity, with courage, with humor, with composure. By Mitch Albom Ted Started World Live Asked

When a lost loved one appears before you, it's your brain that fights it, not your heart. By Mitch Albom Heart Lost Loved Brain Fights

It's funny. I met a man once who did a lot of mountain climbing. I asked him which was harder, ascending or descending? He said without a doubt descending, because ascending you were so focused on reaching the top, you avoided mistakes.The backside of a mountain is a fight against human nature," he said. "You have to care as much about yourself on the way down as you did on the way up. By Mitch Albom Funny Descending Mountain Ascending Climbing

How do we say good-bye to you without saying good-bye to apiece of ourselves? Where do we look for you now? By Mitch Albom Goodbye Apiece

All I was afraid of is saying good-bye. By Mitch Albom Goodbye Afraid

He cried that night for all that he had lost, but he would say it taught him a valuable lesson: that holding on to things will only break your heart. By Mitch Albom Lost Lesson Heart Cried Night

Did you ever wonder? Why people gather when others die? Why people feel they should? It is because the human spirit know, deep down, that all lives intersect. By Mitch Albom People Die Gather Deep Intersect

That's because no one is born with anger. And when we die, the soul is freed from it. But now, here, in order to move on, you must understand why you felt what you did, and why you no longer feel it. By Mitch Albom Anger Born Die Soul Freed

Everyone is in such a hurry. People haven't found meaning in their lives, so they're running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find those things are empty, too, and they keep running. Once you start running, it's hard to slow yourself down. By Mitch Albom Hurry Running People Lives Found

People haven't found meaning in their lives, so they're running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find those things are empty, too, and they keep running. By Mitch Albom People Lives Found Meaning Time

She cared. She gave a crap. When I lacked even the self-respect to keep myself alive, she dabbed my cuts and I fell back into being a son; I fell as easily as you fall into your pillow at night. And I didn't want it to end. That's the best way I can explain it. I knew it was impossible. But I didn't want it to end. By Mitch Albom Cared End Fell Crap Gave

It is not just humans who are musical. Animals, too. This should be obvious in the thousands of birdsongs I have spawned, or the clicking of dolphins, or the moaning of humpback whales. By Mitch Albom Musical Humans Animals Spawned Dolphins

Did I lose you?""Never. By Mitch Albom Lose

Another family story is forges, one that father and son will laugh about for decades. This is how a legacy is built. One memory at a time. By Mitch Albom Forges Decades Family Story Father

I took my orders, too. But if i couldn't keep you alive, I thought I could at least keep you together. In the middle of a big war, you go looking for a small idea to believe in. When you find one, you hold it the way a soldier holds his crucifix when he's praying in a foxhole. By Mitch Albom Orders Alive Thought War Foxhole

Dor remembered Victor's voice.And while they deepen with age, voicesare, to one destined to listen for eternity,as distinct as a fingerprint. Dor knew itwas him the moment Victor spoke in theshop. By Mitch Albom Voicesare Victor Dor Age Fingerprint

If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you have different set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble.Your values must be alike. And the biggest of those values ... the belief in the importance of your marriage. By Mitch Albom Gonna Lot Trouble Person Respect

When a Catholic priest from across the street insulted one of our members, you demanded he apologize. When he did, you accepted, as his penance, a gesture. You waited until the Catholic schoolkids were in recess, playing in the schoolyard, then you and the priest strolled around the perimeter, arm in arm, showing that different faiths can indeed walk side by side, in harmony. By Mitch Albom Catholic Members Apologize Street Insulted

There was always a quest for more minutes, more hours, faster progress to accomplish more in each day. The simple joy of living between summers was gone. By Mitch Albom Minutes Hours Faster Day Quest

You say you should have died instead of me. But during my time on earth, people died instead of me, too. It happens every day. When lightning strikes a minute after you are gone, or an airplane crashes that you might have been on. When your colleague falls ill and you do not. We think such things are random. But there is a balance to it all. One withers, another grows. Birth and death are part of a whole. By Mitch Albom Died Earth People Time Day

You feel like a steel door has been locked; you're banging, but they just can't hear you. And being unheard is the ground floor of giving up, and giving up is the ground floor of doing yourself in. By Mitch Albom Locked Banging Ground Floor Feel

Being unheard is the ground floor of giving up, and giving up is the ground floor of doing yourself in. It's not so much, what's the point? It's more like, what's the difference? By Mitch Albom Ground Floor Giving Unheard Point

Napoleon once dismissed religion as 'what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.' Meaning, without the fear of Godor literally the hell we might have to paythe rest of us would just take what we wanted. By Mitch Albom Napoleon Rich Dismissed Religion Poor

Don't get too attached to anything. By Mitch Albom Attached

YOU TAKA MY SPACEI BREAKA YOUR FACE By Mitch Albom Face Taka Spacei Breaka

But they wanted you. Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future. By Mitch Albom Wanted Deny Time Back Prayer

If you hold back on the emotionsif you don't allow yourself to go all the way through themyou can never get to being detached, you're too busy being afraid. You're afraid of the pain, you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails. But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your heard even, you experience them fully and completely. By Mitch Albom Afraid Detached Hold Back Emotionsif

Turn on the faucet. Wash yourself with the emotion. It won't hurt you. It will only help. If you let the fear inside, if you pull it on like a familiar shirt, then you can say to yourself, "All right, it's just fear, I don't have to let it control me. I see it for what it is". By Mitch Albom Turn Faucet Fear Wash Emotion

You should be convinced of the authenticity of what you have, but you must also be humble enough to say that we dont know everything. And since we dont know everything, we must accept that another person may believe something else. By Mitch Albom Dont Convinced Authenticity Humble Accept

A little girl came home from school with a drawing she'd made in class.She danced into the kitchen ,where her mother was preparing dinner."Mom,guess what ?" she squealed waving the drawing .her mother never looked up."what"? she said ,tending to the pots."guess what?" the child repeated ,waving the drawings."what?" the mother said , tending to the plates."Mom, you're not listening""sweetie,yes I am""Mom" the child said "you're not listening with your EYES By Mitch Albom Momguess Mom Drawing Mother Waving

Don't let go too soon, but don't hold on too long. By Mitch Albom Long Hold

Didn't people call New Year's the loneliest night on the calender? She took comfort in knowing somewhere on the planet, someone might be as miserable as she was. By Mitch Albom Year Calender People Call Loneliest

When he went blundering back to God,His songs half written, his work half done,Who knows what paths his bruised feet trod,What hills of peace or pain he won?I hope God smiled and took his hand,And said, "Poor truant, passionate fool!Life's book is hard to understand:Why couldst thou not remain at school?"A poem by Charles Hanson Towne By Mitch Albom Poor Life Towne God Charles

There is no fair in life and death. If it were, no good men would die young. By Mitch Albom Death Fair Life Young Good

It's natural to die," he said again. "The fact that we make such a big hullabaloo over it is all because we don't see ourselves as part of nature. We think because we're human we're something above nature." He smiled at the plant. "We're not. Everything that gets born, dies. By Mitch Albom Nature Natural Die Dies Fact

But hurting ourselves to inflict pain on others is just another cry to be loved. By Mitch Albom Loved Hurting Inflict Pain Cry

He explained how once we began to chime the hour, we lost the ability to be satisfied. There was always a quest for more minutes, more hours, faster progress to accomplish more in each day. The simple joy of living between sunrises was gone. By Mitch Albom Satisfied Explained Began Chime Lost

If you find one true friend in your life, you're richer than most. If that one true friend is your husband, you're blessed."She paused. "And if that one true friend is your sister, don't feel bad. At least, she can't divorce you. By Mitch Albom True Friend Life Find Richer

If you find one true friend in life, you're richer than most. If that one true friend is your husband, you're blessed. By Mitch Albom True Life Friend Find Richer

Morrie might have died without ever seeing me again. I had no good excuse for this, except the one that everyone these days seems to have. I had become too wrapped up in the siren song of my own life. I was busy. By Mitch Albom Morrie Died Life Good Excuse

But I do know we're deficient in some way. We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don't satisfy us. The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted. By Mitch Albom Deficient Things Involved Materialistic Satisfy

I dropped my eyes, kneading the dying flesh of his feet between my fingers. For a moment, I felt afraid, as if accepting his words would somehow betray my own father. But when I looked up, I saw Morrie smiling through tears and I knew there was no betrayal in a moment like this. All By Mitch Albom Eyes Kneading Fingers Dropped Dying

People in grief can imagine many things. It makes them feel better. It doesn't make it real. By Mitch Albom People Things Grief Imagine Real

Her divorced friends had made a pact not to leave each other alone on nights when loneliness had extra strength. By Mitch Albom Strength Divorced Friends Made Pact

Happiness in a tablet. This is our world. Prozac. Daxil. Xanax. Billions are spent to advertise such drugs. And billions are spent purchasing them. You don't even need a specific trauma, just 'general depression' is enough, or anxiety, as if sadness is as treatable as the common cold. By Mitch Albom Happiness Tablet Billions Spent Prozac

Philosophy was that death should not be embarrassing; he was not about to powder its nose. By Mitch Albom Philosophy Embarrassing Nose Death Powder

Catholic ritual of Sancta Missa: " 'Come in haste to assist them, you saints of God. Come in haste to meet them, you angels of the Lord. Enfold in your arms these souls, and take your burden heavenward to the most high. By Mitch Albom Missa God Sancta Haste Catholic

The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn't the family. If you don't have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don't have much at all. Love is so supremely important. As our great poet Auden said, 'Love each other or perish'. By Mitch Albom Family Foundation Ground Love Fact

Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do. Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it. Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others. Don't assume that it's too late to get involved. By Mitch Albom Accept Past Forgive Denying Discarding

Don't let our outside labels or how fervent we look or zealous we are or how righteous we seem; that's not how you measure yourself against other people. Everyone is a child of God; if we really believed that, we'd treat each other better. By Mitch Albom People Labels Fervent Zealous Righteous

I missed the crowds in those big stadiums, the flashbulbs, the roaring cheers - the majesty of the whole thing. I missed it bitterly. So did my father. We shared a thirst to return; unspoken, undeniable. By Mitch Albom Missed Stadiums Flashbulbs Cheers Thing

Because one thing God gave us- and I'm afraid it's at times a little too much- is freewill. Freedom to choose. I believe he gave us everything needed to build a beautiful world, if we choose wisely. By Mitch Albom God Freewill Gave Thing Afraid

Invest in the human family. Invest in people. Build a little community of those you love and who love you. He By Mitch Albom Invest Family Human Love People

I made the wrong choice ," I whispered. My mother shook her head."A child should never have to choose. By Mitch Albom Choice Whispered Made Wrong Head

Losing a loved one is never really "starting over." More like "continuing without. By Mitch Albom Losing Starting Loved Continuing

I give myself a good cry if i need it. A little each morning, a few tears and that's all. By Mitch Albom Give Good Cry Morning Tears

I give myself a good cry if I need it, but then I concentrate on all good things still in my life. By Mitch Albom Good Life Give Cry Concentrate

His father, who for years had refused to speak to Eddie, now lacked the strength to even try. He watched his son with heavy-lidded eyes. Eddie, after struggling to find even one sentence to say, did the only thing he could think of to do: He held up his hands and showed his father his grease-stained fingertips. By Mitch Albom Eddie Father Years Refused Speak

Now. My turn. Look, if you say that science will eventually prove there is no God, on that I must differ. No matter how small they take it back, to a tadpole, to an atom, there is always something they can't explain, something that created it all at the end of the search. By Mitch Albom God Turn Differ Back Tadpole

Sunflowers waiting for the sunshine. Violets just waiting for dew. Bees just waiting for honey And honey, I'm just waiting for you! By Mitch Albom Waiting Sunflowers Sunshine Honey Violets

Bad news has no limits. We often feel it should, like a rainstorm that can't possibly get any heavier. But a storm can always worsen, & the burdens of life can too. By Mitch Albom Bad Limits Heavier Worsen Feel

Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. The moments that used to define them - a mother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by moments of their own accomplishments. It is not until much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that children understand; their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives. By Mitch Albom Parents Children Rarely Move Accomplishments

Learn this from me. Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves. By Mitch Albom Learn Holding Poison Inside Anger

Dizzy Gillespie, the jazz trumpet player, once said, "It's taken me all my life to learn what not to play." He was one of my special ones. And he was quite correct. Silence enhances music. What you do not play can sweeten what you do. But By Mitch Albom Gillespie Dizzy Player Jazz Trumpet

Tears are okay[Morrie Schwartz] By Mitch Albom Morrie Schwartz Tears

But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then can you say, 'All right. I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion By Mitch Albom Emotion Completely Throwing Allowing Dive

I have said that music allows for quick creation. But it is nothing compared with what you humans can destroy in a single conversation. By Mitch Albom Creation Music Quick Conversation Compared

Mitch, that's what faith is. If they spit in your face, you say it must be raining. But you still come back tomorrow. By Mitch Albom Mitch Faith Face Raining Tomorrow

You need to keep people close. You need to give them access to your heart. By Mitch Albom Close People Heart Give Access

Miracles happen quietly every day - in an operating room, on a stormy sea, in the sudden appearance of a road side stranger. They are rarely tallied. No one keeps score. By Mitch Albom Miracles Day Room Sea Stranger

The years after graduation hardened me into someone quite different from the strutting graduate who left campus that day headed for New York city, ready to offer the world his talent. The world, I discovered. was not all that interested. By Mitch Albom York City Ready Talent World

Every loss leaves a hole in your heart. By Mitch Albom Heart Loss Leaves Hole

I thought about the days i had handed over to a bottle..the nights i can't remember..the mornings i slept thru..all the time spent running from myself. By Mitch Albom Bottle Remember Thru Thought Days

This is how talents weave from generation to generation, how the shadow stretches, and how an artist born nearly a hundred years earlier begins to fill the soul of a child who shares his name. By Mitch Albom Generation Stretches Talents Weave Shadow

Every ending is a beginning. We just don't know it at the time. By Mitch Albom Beginning Ending Time

Death doesn't just take someone, it misses someone else, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed, lives are changed. By Mitch Albom Death Missed Lives Changed Misses

Sometimes, love brings you together even as life keeps you apart. By Mitch Albom Love Brings Life

The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone. By Mitch Albom Time Waste Spend Thinking

My mother was French Protestant, and my father was Italian Catholic, and their union was an excess of God, guilt and sauce. By Mitch Albom Protestant Catholic God French Italian

Did you feel guilty cursing Godyou, of all people?'No,' he said. 'Because even in doing so, I was recognizing there was a greater power than me.'He paused. And that is how I began to heal. By Mitch Albom Godyou People Feel Guilty Cursing

I collected the papers, wrapped them back in the rubber band, and felt a small grief, like a person who discovers, upon returning from a trip, that something has been left behind and there is no way now to retrieve it. By Mitch Albom Papers Wrapped Band Grief Discovers

Once heaven is done with grandma, we'd like her back, thanks. By Mitch Albom Grandma Back Heaven

The only thing scarier than leaving a small town is never leaving it at all. By Mitch Albom Leaving Thing Scarier Small Town

What was the constant?Movement. Yes. With time there was always movement. The setting sun. The dripping water. Thependulums. The spilling sand. To realize his destiny, such movement had to cease. He had to stop the flowof time completely ... By Mitch Albom Movement Constant Time Thependulums Sun

This is part of what a family is about, not just love. It's knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame. Not work. By Mitch Albom Love Family Part Knowing Watching

I am Music. And I am here for the soul of Frankie Presto. Not all of it. Just the rather large part he took from me when he came into this world. However well used, I am a loan, not a possession. You give me back upon departure. I By Mitch Albom Music Presto Frankie Soul World

Nobody's favorite movie is some dark, dysfunctional slasher story. Everybody's favorite song is a sentimental song. So why all of a sudden is it bad to be sentimental in books? By Mitch Albom Dark Dysfunctional Story Favorite Movie

He kept the outside world at bay by keeping the inside world at hand. By Mitch Albom World Hand Bay Keeping Inside

I hate to be like everyone else, but I'm rooting for San Antonio because I like teams that were built the old-fashioned way. By Mitch Albom San Antonio Hate Rooting Teams

Barely pausing between songs, he played American compositions like "St. Louis Blues" and "Tiger Rag." He played "Parfum" from the gypsy legend Django Reinhardt. He By Mitch Albom Blues Tiger Rag American Louis

Life has to end. Love doesn't. By Mitch Albom Life End Love

Without love, we are birds with broken wings By Mitch Albom Love Wings Birds Broken

Without love we all like birds with broken wings. By Mitch Albom Wings Love Birds Broken

As life goes on, you will join other bands, some through friendship, some through romance, some through neighborhoods, school, an army. Maybe you will all dress the same, or laugh at your own private vocabulary. Maybe you will flop on couches backstage, or share a boardroom table, or crowd around a galley inside a ship. But in each band you join, you will play a distinct part, and it will affect you as much as you affect it. By Mitch Albom School Friendship Romance Neighborhoods Army

And thus unknowingly, Dor began to serve his sentence to hear every plea from every soul who desired more of the thing he had first identified, the thing that moved man further from the simple light of existence and deeper into the darkness of his own obsessions. Time. By Mitch Albom Dor Thing Unknowingly Identified Obsessions

Hello, Edward. I've been waiting for you. By Mitch Albom Edward Waiting

One day spent with someone you love can change everything. By Mitch Albom Day Spent Love Change

Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Don't wait, Mitch. Not everyone gets the time I'm getting. Not everyone is as lucky." I By Mitch Albom Forgive Mitch Wait Lucky Time

Oh, Eddie, it never changes, when the groom lifts the veil, when the bride accepts the ring, the possibilities you see in their eyes, it's the same around the world. They truly believe their love and their marriage is going to break all the records. By Mitch Albom Eddie Veil Ring Eyes World

The bride waits here," she said, running her hands along her hair, taking in her image but seeming to drift away. "This is the moment you think about what you're doing. Who you're choosing. Who you will love. If it's right, Eddie, this can be such a wonderful moment. By Mitch Albom Running Hair Taking Bride Waits

We move through places every day that would never have been if not for those who came before us. Our workplaces, where we spend so much timewe often think they began with our arrival. That's not true. By Mitch Albom Move Places Day Workplaces Arrival

All that happens when your dreams come true is a slow, melting realization that it wasn't what you thought. By Mitch Albom Slow Melting Thought Dreams True

The telephone voice is but a seduction, a bread crumb to an appetite. By Mitch Albom Seduction Appetite Telephone Voice Bread

But I had never seen her that way. I had never known her as Pauline, the name he parents had given her, or as Posey, the name her friends had given her; only as Mom, the name I had given her. I could only see her carrying dinner to the table with kitchen mitts, or carpooling us to the bowling alley. By Mitch Albom Pauline Posey Mom Parents Friends

No story sits by itself, Sometimes stories meet at corners and sometimes they cover one another completely, like stones beneath a river. By Mitch Albom Completely River Story Sits Stories

But then she did. she died. no more visits, no more phone calls. And without even realizing it, I began to drift, as if my roots had been pulled, as if I were floating down some side branch of a river. By Mitch Albom Died Visits Calls Drift Pulled

It's amazing the fantasies your mind can put together. By Mitch Albom Amazing Fantasies Mind Put

The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live. By Mitch Albom Learn Die Live Truth

I snicker, but the idea is momentarily appealing. Part of me is scared of leaving school. Part of me wants to go desperately. Tension of opposites. By Mitch Albom Part Snicker Appealing Idea Momentarily

Dor shook his head. "The phrase. What does it mean?"Sarah wondered if he was kidding. "Time flies? You know, like, time goes really fast and suddenly you're saying goodbyeand it's like no time passed at all?"His eyes drifted. He liked it. "Time flies.""With you," she added. By Mitch Albom Time Dor Head Shook Sarah

So, have we solved the secret of happiness?"I believe so," he saidAre you going to tell me?"Yes.Ready?"Ready."Be satisfied."That's it?"Be greatful."That's it?"For what you have.For the love you receive.And for what God has given you."That's it?He looked me in the eye.Then he sighed deeply."That's it. By Mitch Albom Ready Yesready God Happiness Satisfied

Time flies with you By Mitch Albom Time Flies

For better or for worse, I've watched people die in front of me. I see how they are in the end. And they're not cynical. In the end, they wanna hold somebody's hand. And that's real to me. By Mitch Albom Worse End Watched People Die

What is the reason?' 'Finish your journey and you will know. By Mitch Albom Reason Finish Journey

I don't know about Heaven or Hell, but I do know that we are visited all the time by the spirits of those who affected us in life. By Mitch Albom Hell Heaven Life Visited Time

Music is in the connection of human souls, speaking a language that needs no words. Everyone joins a band in this life. And what you play always affects someone. Sometimes, it affects the world. Frankie's By Mitch Albom Music Souls Speaking Words Connection

The day he learned that he was terminally ill was the day he lost interest in his purchasing power. By Mitch Albom Day Power Learned Terminally Ill

Small towns begin with a sign. The words can be as simple as the title of a storyWelcome to Harberville, Now entering Clawsonbut once you cross, you are inside that story, and all that you do will be part of its tale. By Mitch Albom Small Sign Towns Begin Harberville

Learn what you do not know. Understand the consequences of counting the moments. By Mitch Albom Learn Understand Moments Consequences Counting

Counting life's moments had led, inevitably, to counting them down. By Mitch Albom Inevitably Led Counting Life Moments

Everything man does today to be efficient, to fill the hour?" Dor said. "It does not satisfy. It only makes him hungry to do more. Man wants to own his existence. But no one owns time."He lowered his hand from Victor's eyes. "When you are measuring time, you are not living it. I know. By Mitch Albom Efficient Hour Today Fill Man

Finally, on the fourth of November, when those he loved had left the room just for a moment - to grab coffee in the kitchen, the first time none of them were with him since the coma began - Morrie stopped breathing. By Mitch Albom November Morrie Finally Moment Kitchen

Death is the end of a lifetime, not the end of a relationship. By Mitch Albom End Death Lifetime Relationship

Animals not only make music, they hear it in unique fashion. By Mitch Albom Animals Music Fashion Make Hear

younger. In addition to his imposing presence and his brilliant reputation, there were his sermons. Delivered with passion, humor, roaring indignation or stirring whispers, the sermon, for Albert Lewis, was like the fastball for a star pitcher, like the aria for Pavarotti. It was the reason people came; we knew it - and deep down, I think he knew it. I'm sure there are congregations where they slip out before the sermon begins. Not ours. Wristwatches were glanced at and footsteps hurried when people thought they might be late for the Reb's message. Why? I guess because he didn't approach the sermon in a traditional way. I would later learn that, while he was trained in a formal, academic style - start at point A, move to point B, provide By Mitch Albom Younger Sermon Knew Lewis Pavarotti

She was like a wound beneath an old bandage, and he had grown more used to the bandage. By Mitch Albom Bandage Wound Beneath Grown

It was a cutthroat business, dog eat dog, the strong preying on the weak. In the lifestyle I was in, people were killed. It happened every day. By Mitch Albom Dog Business Weak Cutthroat Eat

You live on - in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here ... Death ends life, not a relationship. By Mitch Albom Live Hearts Touched Nurtured Death

In a newspaper, you only have so much room. It teaches you the value of getting to the point, of not pampering yourself with your glorious writing. I've always been much more interested in one powerful sentence that stays with you. That's my style. By Mitch Albom Newspaper Room Point Writing Teaches

It is 1979, a basketball game in the Brandeis gym. The team is doing well, and the student section begins a chant, "We're number one! We're number one!" Morrie is sitting nearby. He is puzzled by the cheer. At one point, in the midst of "We're number one!" he rises and yells, "What's wrong with being number two?" The students look at him. They stop chanting. He sits down, smiling and triumphant. By Mitch Albom Brandeis Number Gym Basketball Game

The truth is, there is no line. There's only your life, how you mess it up, and who is there to save you.Or who isn't. By Mitch Albom Line Truth Life Mess Save

I don't mean you disregard every rule of your community. I don't go around naked, for example. I don't run through red lights. The little things, I can obey. But the big things- how we think, what we value- those you must choose yourself. You can't let anyone-or any society- determine those for you. ' -Morrie Schwartz By Mitch Albom Community Disregard Rule Things Naked

This time was different. The tools of this eraphones, computersenabled people to move at a blurring pace. Yet despite all they accomplished, they were never at peace. By Mitch Albom Time Eraphones Computersenabled Pace Accomplished

Her dresses. Her shoes. A bottle of her perfume. You don't need much to remember someone, Francisco. Even one thing will do. By Mitch Albom Dresses Francisco Shoes Perfume Bottle

Tension of opposites. By Mitch Albom Tension Opposites

He could not feel agony. He could not feel sadness. His consciousness felt smoky, wisplike, incapable of anything but calm By Mitch Albom Agony Feel Wisplike Sadness Smoky

Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you, as I'm sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you're looking for, no matter how much of them you have. By Mitch Albom Tenderness Substitute Money Power Dying

A mother's voice is like no other. We recognize every lilt and whisper, every warble or shriek. By Mitch Albom Mother Voice Whisper Shriek Recognize

After the Israelites safely crossed the Red Sea, the Egyptians chased after them and were drowned. God's angels wanted to celebrate the enemy's demise.God saw this and grew angry. He said, in essence, 'Stop celebrating. For those were my children,too." "What do you think of that?" the teacher asks us.Someone else answers. But I know what I think. I think it is the first time I've heard that God might love the "enemy" as well as us. By Mitch Albom Sea Israelites Red Egyptians Drowned

The classroom as a living, breathing place. They chose discussions over lectures, experience over theory. They sent students to the Deep South for civil rights projects and to the inner city for fieldwork. They went By Mitch Albom Living Breathing Place Classroom Deep

I believe that you live on inside the hearts and minds of everyone you've touched while you were here on earth. By Mitch Albom Earth Live Inside Hearts Minds

Are you seeing anyone romantically?" he inquired."No, I'm not," she replied."Good. Please keep it that way. Because I intend to ask you to marry me. By Mitch Albom Good Romantically Inquired Replied Intend

All he heard was his own labored breathing, followed by an echo of that breathing. He inhaled and heard a louder inhale. He exhaled, and it exhaled too. Eddie squeezed his eyes shut. Silence is worse when you know it won't be broken, and Eddie knew. By Mitch Albom Breathing Heard Labored Echo Eddie

Silence is worse when you know it won't be broken. By Mitch Albom Silence Broken Worse

It is said that the earliest spark for the telephone came when Alexander Bell was still in his teens. He noticed how, if he sang a certain note near an open piano, the string of that note would vibrate, as if singing back to him. He sang an A; the A string shook. The idea of connecting voices through a wire was born. By Mitch Albom Alexander Bell Teens Earliest Spark

I thought about how often this was needed in everyday life. How we feel lonely, sometimes to the point of tears, but we don't let those tears come because we are not supposed to cry. By Mitch Albom Life Thought Needed Everyday Tears

Detroit is a place where we've had it pretty tough. But there is a generosity here and a well of kindness that goes deep. By Mitch Albom Detroit Tough Place Pretty Deep

Personally, I always wondered about authors and celebrities who loudly declared there was no God. It was usually when they were healthy and popular and being listened to by crowds. What happens, I wondered, in the quiet moments before death? By then, they have lost the stage, the world has moved on. If suddenly, in their last gasping moments, through fear, a vision, a late enlightenment, they change their minds about God, who would know? By Mitch Albom Personally God Authors Celebrities Loudly

Don't fall asleep in classes. It's such a lucky thing you have, to be taught and to be learning and not have to be working in a shop somewhere. By Mitch Albom Classes Fall Asleep Lucky Thing

He almost told her everything right then, that very moment. But you grab a moment, or you let it pass. He let it pass. By Mitch Albom Moment Pass Told Grab

I was so lonely." And Father Time said, "You were never alone. By Mitch Albom Lonely Father Time

Once we began to chime the hour, we lost the ability to be satisfied By Mitch Albom Hour Satisfied Began Chime Lost

Don't cling to things because everything is impermanent. By Mitch Albom Impermanent Cling Things

You are born into your first one. Your mother plays the lead. She shares the stage with your father and siblings. Or perhaps your father is absent, an empty stool under a spotlight. But he is still a founding member, and if he surfaces one day, you will have to make room for him. By Mitch Albom Born Father Lead Mother Plays

Consider the word "time." We use so many phrases with it. Pass time. Waste time. Kill time. Lose time. In good time. About time. Take your time. Save time. A long time. Right on time. Out of time. Mind the time. Be on time. Spare time. Keep time. Stall for time. There are as many expressions with "time" as there are minutes in a day. But once, there was no word for it at all. Because no one was counting. Then Dor began. And everything changed. By Mitch Albom Time Word Dor Phrases Pass

I was a workaholic. I never stopped. I lived in fifth gear. I bought cars. I invested in stocks. I made more money than I had ever imagined. By Mitch Albom Workaholic Stopped Gear Cars Lived

It's such a shame to waste time. We always think we have so much of it. By Mitch Albom Time Shame Waste

Suddenly it was terribly quiet, as if the earth itself were too stunned to breathe. I know this sound; silence is part of music. But just because something is silent doesn't mean you aren't hearing it. Frankie By Mitch Albom Suddenly Quiet Breathe Terribly Earth

Man wants to own his existence. But no one owns time. By Mitch Albom Man Existence Time

For as spiritual as some people think my books are, I've never really dealt with religious things. By Mitch Albom Things Spiritual People Books Dealt

Through it all, despite it all, Eddie privately adored his old man, because sons will adore their fathers through even the worst behavior. It is how they learn devotion. Before he can devote himself to God or a woman, a boy will devote himself to his father, even foolishly, even beyond explanation. By Mitch Albom Eddie Man Behavior Privately Adored

I prefer them broken.''Why is that?' Victor said.Dor looked at the grain of sand in his fingers.'Because I am the sinner who created them. By Mitch Albom Prefer Broken Victor Fingers Saiddor

But daughters have their own lives. You can't smother them. She'll get married. Have children. By Mitch Albom Lives Daughters Married Smother Children

Once you have a sister, you never stop having her, even if you can no longer see or touch her. By Mitch Albom Sister Stop Longer Touch

It's not contagious, you know. Death is as natural as life. It's part of the deal we made. By Mitch Albom Contagious Death Life Made Natural

Sometimes, questions are more hurtful than insults. By Mitch Albom Questions Insults Hurtful

Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else. By Mitch Albom Precious Sacrifice Losing Passing

A eulogy is no more than a summation of memories, and we will never forget you, because we cannot forget you, because we will miss you every day. To imagine a world without you in it is to imagine a world with a little less God in it, and yet, because God is not a diminishing resource, I cannot believe that. By Mitch Albom Forget God Memories Day Imagine

You marked the minutes," the old man said. "But did you use them wisely? To be still? To cherish? To be grateful? To lift and be lifted? By Mitch Albom Minutes Marked Man Wisely Cherish

In college, I had a course in Latin, and one day the word "divorce" came up. I always figured it came from some root that meant "divide." In truth, it comes from "divertere," which means "to divert."I believe that. All divorce does is divert you, taking you away from everything you thought you knew and everything you thought you wanted and steering you into all kinds of other stuff, like discussions about your mother's girdle and whether she should marry someone else. By Mitch Albom Latin College Word Day Divorce

I hope that one day you will think of me as your friend. By Mitch Albom Friend Hope Day

What is false about hope? By Mitch Albom Hope False

So many times I feel I'm using the same words over and over, like a woman wearing the same dress every day. So boring! By Mitch Albom Day Times Feel Words Woman

Fear is how you lose your life ... a little bit at a time ... What we give to fear, we take away from ... faith. By Mitch Albom Life Lose Fear Faith Time

What she mostly wanted, he learned, was the same thing many people wantsomeone to notice she was there. By Mitch Albom Wanted Learned Thing People Wantsomeone

His running was over. His dancing was over. Worse, for some reason, the way he used to feel about things was over, too. He withdrew. Things seemed silly or pointless By Mitch Albom Running Things Worse Reason Dancing

We need to forgive ourselves. For all the things we didn't do. All the things we should have done. You can't get stuck on the regrets of what should have happened. By Mitch Albom Things Forgive Happened Stuck Regrets

Remember, the only difference between 'marital' and 'martial' is where you put the 'i By Mitch Albom Remember Marital Martial Difference Put

You have peace," the old woman said, "when you make it with yourself. By Mitch Albom Peace Woman Make

Well, for one thing, the culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. We're teaching the wrong things. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it. Create your own. Most people can't do it. By Mitch Albom Culture Make Feel Good Thing

What is it?""A prayer.""For a child?"She nodded."For me?"Another nod."On a tree?""Trees spend all day looking up at God. By Mitch Albom God Prayer Child Nodded Nod

Love wins, love always wins. By Mitch Albom Love Wins

How nice would that be today if when a job was lost, a Man of God sat at the dinner table and encouraged you? By Mitch Albom Man God Lost Nice Today

No, Edward. You are here so I can teach you something. All the people you meet here have one thing to teach you. By Mitch Albom Edward Teach People Meet Thing

People who don't normally read make an exception for my books, possibly because they're short. By Mitch Albom People Books Possibly Short Read

Detachment doesn't mean you don't let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That's how you are able to leave it. By Mitch Albom Penetrate Detachment Experience Contrary Fully

The word dyting is not synonymous with the word useless By Mitch Albom Word Useless Dyting Synonymous

But common sense has no place in first love and never has. By Mitch Albom Common Sense Place Love

Here's the thing," he said. "People see me as a bridge. I'm not as alive as I used to be, but I'm not yet dead. I'm sort of ... in-between By Mitch Albom Thing People Bridge Inbetween Dead

In the beginning of life, when we are infants, we need others to survive, right? And at the end of life, when you get like me, you need others to survive, right?' His voice dropped to a whisper. 'But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well. By Mitch Albom Life Survive Infants Beginning Whisper

Everyone knows they re going to die,' he said again, 'but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently. By Mitch Albom Die Differently Things

There are many things in my life that I wish I could take back. Many moments I would recast. By Mitch Albom Back Things Life Recast Moments

Life goes quickly, doesn't it? By Mitch Albom Life Quickly

Take my condition. The things I am supposed to be embarrassed about now - not being able to walk, not being able to wipe my ass, waking up some mornings wanting to cry - there is nothing innately embarrassing or shaming about them. It's the same for women not being thin enough, or men not being rich enough. It's just what our culture would have you believe. Don't believe it. By Mitch Albom Condition Walk Ass Waking Cry

But then, I knew so little about my mother over the last decade of her life. I had been too wrapped up in my own drama. By Mitch Albom Life Knew Mother Decade Drama

Sometimes, when you are not getting the love you want, giving makes you think you will. By Mitch Albom Giving Love Makes

The truth is, when our mothers held us, rocked us, stroked our heads -none of us ever got enough of that. We all yearn in some way to return to those days when we were completely taken care of - unconditional love, unconditional attention. Most of us didn't get enough. By Mitch Albom Rocked Stroked Heads Unconditional Truth

Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it. By Mitch Albom Accept Past Denying Discarding

Then, after showing the pill and some graphics, those same people appeared again, looking happier.The Reb and I watched in silence. After it ended, he asked, "Do you think those pills work?"Not like that, I said."No," he agreed. "Not like that. By Mitch Albom Reb Graphics Silence Showing People

A woman has been chosen. The gift of heaven on earth. This will become the biggest story in the world. Coldwater, Michigan. Ask a man of God. One call will confirm everything. By Mitch Albom Chosen Woman Michigan God Earth

Intentions. That's important in music, too. Critically important. What you're thinking about can be what you become. By Mitch Albom Intentions Important Music Critically Thinking

As children grow, they gravitate to their fates. By Mitch Albom Grow Fates Children Gravitate

I find interesting characters or lessons that resonate with people and sometimes I write about them in the sports pages, sometimes I write them in a column, sometimes in a novel, sometimes a play or sometimes in nonfiction. But at the core I always say to myself, 'Is there a story here? Is this something people want to read?' By Mitch Albom Write Pages Column Nonfiction Find

In stories about life after death, the soul often floats above the good-bye moment, hovering over police cars at highway accidents, or clinging like a spider to hospital-room ceilings. These are people who receive a second chance, who somehow, for some reason, resume their place in the world. By Mitch Albom Death Moment Hovering Accidents Ceilings

Talent is a piece of God's shadow. And under that shadow, human stories intersect. By Mitch Albom God Shadow Talent Piece Human

The human spirit knows, deep down that all lives intersect. By Mitch Albom Deep Intersect Human Spirit Lives

Much of what we called "depression" was really dissatisfaction, a result of setting a bar impossibly high or expecting treasures we weren't willing to work for. By Mitch Albom Depression Called Dissatisfaction Result Setting

The old man asked again. "When I'm gone." His eyes blinked from behind his glasses. His neatly trimmed beard was gray, and he stood slightly stooped. Are you dying? I asked. "Not yet," he said, grinning. Then why - "Because I think you would By Mitch Albom Man Asked Grinning Glasses Gray

God and the decision he renders is correct. God doesn't punish anyone out of the blue. God knows what He is doing. By Mitch Albom God Correct Decision Renders Blue

He never spoke of that night again, not to your mother, not to anyone else. He was ashamed for her, for Mickey, for himself. In the hospital, he stopped speaking altogether. Silence was his escape, but silence is rarely a refuge. His thoughts still haunted him.'~pg 139 By Mitch Albom Mother Mickey Spoke Night Silence

Every society has its own problems," Morrie said, lifting his eyebrows, the closest he could come to a shrug. "The way to do it, I think, isn't to run away. You have to work at creating your own culture. By Mitch Albom Morrie Problems Lifting Eyebrows Shrug

Death: the only true emotion felt in an apathetic world By Mitch Albom Death World True Emotion Felt

And one day spent with someone you love can change everything. I By Mitch Albom Day Spent Love Change

The running boy is inside every man, no matter how old he gets. By Mitch Albom Man Running Boy Inside Matter

One of my disciples, a lanky saxophonist named Sonny Rollins, played his horn for three years on a bridge in New York City, his tender jazz melodies wafting between the traffic noises. I would pause there often, on the girders, just to listen. Or By Mitch Albom Rollins City Sonny York Disciples

You can be a mama's boy, be a daddy's boy, but you can't be both. So you cling to the one you think you might lose. By Mitch Albom Boy Mama Daddy Lose Cling

You can be a mama's boy or and a Daddy's boy,but you can't be both. So you cling to the you you think you might lose. By Mitch Albom Daddy Mama Boy Boybut Lose

In any conversation, I was taught, there are at least three parties: you, the other person, and the Lord. By Mitch Albom Lord Conversation Taught Parties Person

There is no such thing as 'too late' in life. By Mitch Albom Late Life Thing

The curtain has just come down on childhood By Mitch Albom Childhood Curtain

Sentiment is wherever you go. By Mitch Albom Sentiment

Something is always happening somewhere. By Mitch Albom Happening

You don't need speech or hearing to feel [friendship] By Mitch Albom Friendship Feel Speech Hearing

But it was not a new idea. We call out; we are answered. It has been that way from the beginning of belief, and it continues to this very moment. By Mitch Albom Idea Answered Belief Moment Call

Die as a sacrifice is more worthy then a suicide By Mitch Albom Die Suicide Sacrifice Worthy

Is how you stay alive. By Mitch Albom Alive Stay

Perdonare"Forgive Yourself) By Mitch Albom Perdonare Forgive

If we love something and somebody so much, how much - if at all - are they ever really gone from our hearts? By Mitch Albom Hearts Love

There is a reason God limits man's days. By Mitch Albom God Days Reason Limits Man

It's very simple. As you grow, you learn more. By Mitch Albom Simple Grow Learn

Silence was his escape, but silence is rarely a refuge. By Mitch Albom Escape Refuge Silence Rarely

When he died, he took part of me with him . I was stuck after that By Mitch Albom Died Part Stuck

Do I wither up and disappear, or do I make the best of my time left? By Mitch Albom Disappear Left Wither Make Time

An education is everything, Charley. An education is how you'll make something of yourself. By Mitch Albom Charley Education Make

The slightest human contact was immediate joy. By Mitch Albom Joy Slightest Human Contact

That's the thing when people leave us too suddenly, isn't it? We always have so many questions. By Mitch Albom Suddenly Thing People Leave Questions

And I suppose tapes are a desperate attempt to steal something from Death's suitcase. By Mitch Albom Death Suitcase Suppose Tapes Desperate

All blessings do not bless the same. By Mitch Albom Blessings Bless

I've always said I have one skill. That skill - if I have it at all - is storytelling. By Mitch Albom Skill Storytelling

This is a story about a man named Eddie and it begins at the end, with Eddie dying in the sun. By Mitch Albom Eddie End Sun Story Man

What in life can love not penetrate? By Mitch Albom Penetrate Life Love

Livin