TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE
// MOWDEN HALL //
I’ve been thinking a lot about where I want to be, come the end of this year. I recently finished a book highly recommended by one of the most influential teachers I ever had, Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie.
The book concerns discussions exchanged between Albom and his dying university sociology professor – Morrie Schwartz. Morrie’s gifts him a precious perspective upon the world, one I wish we all had, even in mediation.
I’m able to relate each chapter to a significant moment or two in my life. The world, feeling sorry for yourself, regret, death, family, emotions, fear of ageing, how love goes on, marriage, our culture, forgiveness, and the perfect day all lead to the inevitable ‘we say goodbye’. Morrie, although melancholy with his incapacitation, remains grateful he is able to say his last goodbyes, knowing they are just that. As heart-wrenching as it is, this may very well be one of life’s greatest feats. Closure.
Closure is what daunts me currently. Part of me is excited for the reunions with friends and family – and yet I’m equally terrified. So much will change over the next eleven months. I do know some, in fact many of those I hold closest will navigate love, life, and loss in all their glory.
I appreciate a little piece of writing someone left in my room, which sits humbly on pastel-pink paper blue-tacked in the corner, but remains thought provoking regardless. It reads
“One fine day it will be your turn. You will leave homes, cities, and countries to pursue grander ambitions. You will leave friends, lovers, and possibilities for the chance to roam the world and make deeper connections. You will defy your fear for change, hold your head high and do what you once thought was unthinkable: walk away. And it will be scary. At first. But what I hope you’ll find is that in leaving, you don’t just find love, adventure and freedom. More than anything, you find you.”
I have already done this once, and I’m quite confident that I will continue to do so. It will no doubt feel as though I will do so when I leave Mowden. Nonetheless, it serves a comforting reminder as to sacrifice. I’m awarded a great comfort when I read this, particularly when I find myself wondering what’s happening on the other side of the planet I’m far more accustomed to, and what will wait for me when I return.
I often find myself imagining December 2025. In some senses December will feel familiar. Cold weather, winter timetables. But the unfamiliar will lie both back home, and I imagine within myself. A lot already has changed.
Many are fearing change now. I truly struggled to watch the inauguration knowing this term is only going to be more inhumane, more restrictive, more moving backwards. But, I remain a true believer that adversity is an amplifier. Whilst the ‘bads’ will be forever omnipresent over the next four years, enough will prevail, and push, and challenge for the end to still be in sight, or at the very least, there.
A few photos from my day off today – went for a short explore of Hexham and a nice walk around the grounds of Mowden…
