Endings are really beginnings
Monday, February 26, 2007 at 5:06PM Early in The Five People You Meet in Heaven, author Mitch Albom says that "all endings are also beginnings." His protagonist Eddie goes about the last 30 minutes of his life on Earth as a routine.
He is an old, wounded war veteran, who feels he had led an uninspired life. His chosen job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people identify Earthly connections to him. They give him reason to rethink his ideas of a "meaningless" life, and shed new light on timeless question: "Why was I here?"
The five life lessons clarified for Eddy by angels are:
1- There are no random acts. Strangers are like family you have yet to know.
2- Sacrificing precious things, doesn't mean you lose them. You pass them on to someone else.
3- When we're angry, we hurt ourselves more than other people. Learn to forgive.
4- Life has to end, but love doesn't.
5- Your good deeds can help make up for what has been done before you.
How do you feel about these lessons? What kinds of life experiences have influenced your views? Explain how you understand connections among people you meet and your life experiences.
Reader Comments (2)
There is a never-ending steam of stuff to sell on eBay, and a never-ending stream of love and good stuff.
I actually very recently finally saw the movie this post is about. Jon Voight has always been one of my fave actors.
Such a touching story of the amusement park and all the lives intertwined.
Good deeds are paid back with interest too, I like that!
Now, off to research how much a '65 Pontiac carburetor goes on ebay for these days, and come in a few dollars lower than the lowest priced one that looks good on there. Think of how much joy the recipient of that carburetor will feel in rebuilding a classic car and cruising around with his loved ones on the weekends. I bet they'll pack great picnics and have wonderful beach days, and bonfires with wienies and marshmallows as the tide rolls in and out in the evenings.
Or maybe they'll be prairie folk who enjoy riding on country roads along the dancing fields of grains yummy yummy bread will be made from.
xoxo