Money and power in the world today are two of the most envied things. Most people, well in fact all people live by the thesis that they must have as much power and money as possible. 'Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness.' This was the statement that Morrie used to bring his point across. I believe this statement is to show Mitch that by him working so hard for a new car, house etc. is not what life is about, also this was used to show others in the world that power and money are not substitutes for love, affection and compassion.
Money is not just a possession as much as a way of life as it is the one thing that will keep us alive in the modern world. It seems ignorant to think that money is what drives us to what we are considering it is a mere possession, a fragment of our modern world. Without it we would be stranded, without shelter and without livelihood when we realize that it is what we live by and for. Every pert of our life revolves around money whether it be leisure or work. We work for money in order to have leisure time. This is a simple way to put it. What we should be living for is love, companionship, friendship and respect. To me these simple things seem worth more than what money can bring and therefore I do believe that the human race has become something out of a science-fiction movie or book. We seem not to care for the simple but most pleasurable things in life.
Many people in today?s world seem to think that when they buy something new that they have thrived to own it will give them a ?hug? show compassion or love towards them, but the simple fact is that it won?t. Money cannot buy love, it can only be given and taken as a show of respect for others. Almost everyone in this world has fallen into the same trap, thinking that money will bring them happiness. We can all agree that having money is a nice experience and may make you happy for a short period of time but cannot stand in place of the affection (tenderness as Morrie puts it). I am sure that each one of us realizes Morrie?s statement to coincide with their own thoughts and beliefs but it seems to me that everyone is afraid of showing tenderness but even more afraid of loosing it so they venture into something such as money for a guaranteed ?
The notion that people can live without money, and be content without money, is not a new concept. Countless people in the world believe that money is potentially damaging our society today.Many books have been written, and numerous studies have been concurred; which describe individuals that come from a life of wealth; that eventually strive to abandon its monetary values due to money 's influence and corruption, such as Chris McCandless from Into The Wild. Society today is driven by money, as we are constantly trying to achieve wealth and a higher status than others; even at a young age. These pressures of money may actually be what what is causing so much stress and anxiety, and is constantly shaping how our brains function. Books such as
Life is a struggle, a tug of war with merciful opposing sides. An untold amount of people tear apart at the seams because the tension is too much. The rest of people has different versions of the same problem. People try to juggle work and family but find themselves in a state of confusion where priorities become blur. Is getting a high salary is more important than having dinner with family? The answer to that varies among all of us. To Mitch, the paycheck and the luxury that he brings was clearly more important than his family. But, Morrie made him realize one thing; the baffle that comes with the tension of opposites always end with the victory of
Money— sweeter than honey but oh so destructive. It facilitates a man’s life, while a lack of it imprisons him in the streets of penury. It raises his social status, while an absence of it leaves him unnoticed. It gives him an aura of superiority and importance among others, while a deficiency of it makes him worthless in society’s eyes. Considering these two roads, most do not take more than a second to decide to chase riches.
Without money we cannot survive because it's necessary to provide food, clothing, and shelter. With excess money, we can entertain, beautify, and humor ourselves. Mrs. Hammond loves money because it allows her to go beyond just surviving; she wallows in the extravagant spenders of food, clothing, and shelter. Her lavish lifestyle replaces the tender desires of her heart, such as truth or love. By embracing money and refusing love, Mrs. Hammond denies her soul the greatest treasure on Earth.
To him, “we put our values in the wrong things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives” (Albom 123-124). People are always overestimating the value of one thing, and undervaluing others, when really it should be the other way around. Yet Morrie sees these people as “so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes…You can’t substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship” (Albom 125). No matter how much money you may have, it can’t make up for a lack of human love in your life. It’s true when people say “money can’t buy happiness” because it can’t buy people, real people who are there for you through thick and thin. It doesn’t what new thing you buy in order to fill the void left in your life, it can never truly fill it even if you convince yourself otherwise. For Morrie, giving others “your time. Your concern. Your storytelling.” (Albom 126), things of that nature are far more valuable than any material possession could ever be. By being in the company of someone who needs it, offering a shoulder to cry on, or lending an ear to someone’s woes, you are showing them you’re there for them, offering yourself and gaining a purpose, along with
With the threatening reality of Morrie’s illness looming overhead, Mitch must learn from him just how necessary it is to live life to the fullest. Mitch was living an empty life, a life lacking fulfillment and love. Morrie explained this in a quote “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things.” He also explained, “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.” Morrie helps Mitch lead a life consisting of love and happiness rather then material possessions. Morrie taught Mitch to live with the key ingredients of happiness and gave him understanding about what those ingredients are, and how to make them apart of his life.
Morrie and Mitch’s relationship went far beyond that of a teacher and student. It turned into a friendship between two men. Morrie taught Mitch innumerable lessons about the world, feeling sorry for oneself, regrets, death, family, emotions, fear of aging, money, how love goes on, marriage, culture, forgiveness, and saying good-bye. Morrie never wanted sympathy from Mitch; only an open mind and heart. Morrie discussed his philosophies on life with Mitch and encouraged him to do the same. Morrie shared his strengths and his weaknesses with his student, allowing him to open up to his old professor in a way that would help him to recharge his existing life.
In the Westing Game money acts as a sign of power to show in the end money is the not the final goal and when money is involved we forget about how much more powerful emotional value is. People use things and want things with artificial value because we give it power. Power gives us control which we take and use it towards something with an emotional sense of value. The problem is that people naturally get caught up in the power of money and forget about things with emotional power. Causing us to forget about things with emotional value and eventually lose what people started saving for.
Morrie was given the opportunity to discuss his fears regarding his impending death. He was granted love and company in his final days. He was able to reach to Mitch to show him the importance of living. Mitch is shown life in a new perspective, without having to suffer the consequences of being terminally ill. He is given the knowledge of what it means to live a successful life. I believe both parties think they benefited themselves more than the other.
Morrie was never really a materialistic man and always loved the simple thing like singing, music, laughter, dancing, etc and now that he’s dying he cares even less and he says that people are so hungry for love that they start accepting substitutes and they start embracing it to and people except a sort of hug back, but it never works because people can’t substitute material things for love, tenderness or for even a sense of comradeship so Morrie doesn’t really care about money or material things.. “Money is not a substitute for tenderness.”(Albom #125). I agree with Morrie that money can’t replace tenderness because a lot during last summer I really wasn’t being with my family and friends I was just working and now that I think about it I was quite sad during that period and I felt very lonely and really having know one to make me feel something and it was something that I missed because I was always away from my family and friends and I also never really became friends with my coworkers I just wanted the money and because I wasn’t really ever with my family or friends and I all I wanted was money and that money made a lot more sadder and then it making me happy. During the last couple of weeks of summer I quit because I didn’t feel good alway being away from family and friends and when I did quit I remember there being a bigger change on how I felt because I felt something and it something good and I
... Even though money looks like the answer to all of one’s problems, and even though it acts like the key to unlock the American Dream, Money is a trap that can lead to deception and destruction.
What is wealth to the American people?“They say money is the root of all evil, I see money as the root of all people”- Joey Bada$$. Money does truly run the entire world, and is the reason why most wars start. I believe we are able to blame money on people becoming selfish. Before there was a little piece of paper that meant the world to people there was still a currency in place. People used trade instead of cash, however I still believe it to have been a competitive way of trade, people most likely bragged if they had something better than the rest. However, before there was an actual dollar, I think things were better and people were much more generous. If you helped a neighbor, they would help you, or give you a little present that didn’t necessarily have value. Now it usually always equals money. It has changed so much, even just hearing stories from my parents and what a dollar used to mean to them, versus what it means now. We have currency for structure, without a proper currency I don’t think we’d ever get to where we are now,
Morrie’s messages about life in this book were not solely directed fro Mitch; they are meant for anyone who is willing to take the time to listen. For me, there is not only one thing I learned from Morrie. I learned that I should not take life for granted because you never know when it will be over. Even though I have heard it many times I never really believed that what the media says is not necessarily true, until I read this book. Finally, I learned that love and compassion, not only for others, but also for oneself are essential in living a happy life. It does not matter if someone is rich, or if they are poor for that matter. The truth is that as long as you lived your life as best you could, you learned from your mistakes, and you are happy with yourself, then you lead a fulfilling life.
“Money is number and numbers never end if it takes money to be happy your search for happiness will never end.” (Bob Marley). For the majority of people in our modern-capitalist world, money is the first thing, and sometimes the only thing that measures success in life. Money can buy power. Money can buy fame. Money can buy time. Sometimes money can even buy a life. So money has become the first common goal for everybody. There are many different perspectives, and how people view the world, in terms of success, and money. Money is not the root of all evil, but the love of money is the root of all evil.
I never really thought the expression, “money can’t buy happiness”, was true. As an infant, just by observing the people around me, I observed when they would obtain money and a huge grin would spread across their face, the corners of their smile spreading from ear to ear. Whenever I would see that grin and a person’s face light up at the sight of a crisp, green bill it would make me believe that I had proved the famous expression wrong. Now that I’ve grown up and matured, my idea of that expression has changed. As of now, I am able to reflect on life more and look deeper into things and particularly into people more than I was able to do years ago. My ideas about this expression changed the most though because of the money situation my family had stumbled upon because of the failing economy. I remember being younger when the economy was doing well and waking up to twenty gifts for each of my three sisters and I. We used to believe that all of those presents, brought in because of money of course, were the best part of waking up on Christmas. Of course all of those toys and material items would make a child happy; however looking back it would only make them happy if it was given to them by somebody who bought it for them with love.