"We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don't satisfy us." (p 84) When Morrie said this, he was attacking the cycle directly. Once Morrie realized that he did not have all the time in the world, it became very clear to him that he needed to put his focus into things that truly mattered. Mitch had his life ahead of him, but he needed guidance and a focus for his life. His meetings with Morrie helped him to find the focus for his life.
Mitch had been searching for meaning since his uncle died. Mitch put his life into his work, and work became his life. .
"I had become too wrapped up in the siren song of my own life. I was busy" (p 33).
Mitch states that his life had spun out of control and he was no longer able to do the things that truly mattered. There was no focus for Mitch's life. When he left college, he had planned on becoming a piano player. Mitch had his goals in values in the right place, but a crisis shattered his normal existence. He had abandoned his long-time dream of becoming a famous pianist after several years of failed attempts, and after the death of his favorite uncle who had taught him music, among many other life lessons. Mitch had admired his uncle very much, and had modeled himself after him. He had died a slow, painful death from pancreatic cancer, and watching him die had made Mitch feel helpless. This crisis for Mitch changed his views on life. It caused him to place his values into the popular views of society. Mitch lived this way for 15 years until another crisis shattered that way of existence. Morrie's death was a crisis that made Mitch reflect entirely on his life so far. Once Mitch realizes that there is no worth in the cycle, it becomes clear to him that the real meaning in life comes from the intrinsic. .
"I found myself thinking about Morrie whenever I read anything silly .
or mindless. I kept picturing him there, in the house with the Japanese maple.