My Book of Wisdom

Chapter 2: The Third Tuesday

The reason I chose to do The Third Tuesday was because everyone has regrets. Everyone says to themselves, "I wish I hadn't done this" or "My life would be so much better if I hadn't done that," but really, they're the things that shape us. They make it so we don't embarrass ourselves again with the same mistake. Sometimes, we never even try it because we're afraid that we'll fail, but you know what they say -- if you never try, then you'll never know what you're missing out on.

The thing that caught my attention in this chapter is when Mitch is talking about the tape recorder. On page 63, Mitch says, "And I suppose tapes, like photographs and videos, are a desperate attempt to steal something from death's suitcase." It is, in a way. Recordings of our past help us to capture a memory. A moment. That one time when. We look back in those photos of ourselves and say things like, "I was so thin then" or "I remember that day" or even "why do I even have this photo?" These are the moments that trigger our memory. Because, even though time is everlasting, it only feels like yesterday when our parents hosted our tenth birthday. Time is short -- and that's all I have to say about that.

In this chapter, Mitch truly realized how obtuse humans are to death. We know that every day, someone is dying and someone is being born. We know that death wanders around the world, claiming people who have lived their life. Accidents. Suicides. Homicides. Diseases. Old age. Mitch knows that Morrie is going to die from suffocation. Morrie even tells Mitch how he's going to die. Mitch understands this, but (like all the other people on this earth) says, "I'll see you next time." Everyone and everything dies, humans are just too stubborn to admit it.

I learned not to hold on to regret. On my bus ride to school in the morning, I often think how dangerous the road is. There's even a car that drove off the side of the road! I often think, If this bus made a sharp turn onto ice right now and slide off the road into the creek next to us, what would my regrets be? My answer -- I wish I had spent more time with my friends and family (notice that I put friends first -- JK).

To me, the most important thing to learn about regret is it's a waste of time. Like they say: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift (that is why it is called "present"). Yes -- I just quoted Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda. Proverbs 28:13 says, "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." We can't take it with us, but if we don't resolve it with ourselves, then we'll carry those "stones" with us the rest of our lives.