Quotes by Mitch Albom

Your father was no longer a young man. he was already in his fifties.Fifty-six, Eddie said blankly.Fifty-six, the old woman repeated. His body had been weakened, the ocean had left him vulnerable, pneumonia took hold of him, and in time, he died.Because of Mickey? Eddie said.Because of loyalty, she said.People don’t die because of loyalty.They don’t? she smiled. Religion? government? Are we not loyal to such things, sometimes to the death?Eddie shrugged.Better, she said, To be loyal to one another.

A funeral is no place for secrets.

Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe.

Love- the infatuation kind- hes so handsome, shes so beautiful- that can shrivel. As soon as something goes wrong, that kind of love can fly out the window.

What do people fear most about death? I asked the reb.Fear? he thought for a moment. Well, for one thing, what happens next? Where do we go? Is it what we imagined?Thats big.Yes. But theres something else.What else?He leaned forward.Being forgotten, he whispered.

People often belittle the place where they were born but heaven can be found in the most unlikely places.

I took my orders, too. But if i couldnt 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 hes praying in a foxhole.

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?

There is no formula to relationships. They have to be negotiated in loving ways, with room for both parties, what they want and what they need, what they can do and what their life is like.

My friedns, 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 good-byes will be complete.

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. And when its time, our good-byes will be complete.

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.

Do I wither up and disappear, or do I make the best of my time left?-Morrie

Because, from the beginning , God said, Im gonna put this world into your hands. If I run everything, then thats 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.

Because, from the beginning, God said, Im gonna put this world into your hands. If I run everything, then thats 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.

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.

So, have we solved the secret of happiness? I believe so, he said. Are you going to tell me? Yes. Ready? Ready. Be satisfied. Thats it? Be grateful. Thats it? For what you have. For the love you receive. And for what God has given you. Thats it? He looked me in the eye. Then he sighed deeply. Thats it.

Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too---even when youre in the dark. Even when youre falling.

Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others.

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 mothers approval, a fathers 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