(Originally published Jan. 2004)
Last September, I went to hear author Mitch Albom speak on the MSU campus about his latest novel, “The Five People You Meet in Heaven.”
The first 200 people in line get an advance copy of his novel.
I was so excited! I have been reading Mitch Albom’s in the Detroit Free Press since college. He is easily one of the most influential writers in my life as a journalist.
In short, this was a big deal.
As I drew nearer and nearer to the door, my anticipation was growing deeper and deeper. I was going to make it!
But then the unthinkable happened — the door closed.
As I stared through the window, I watched as the advance copies flew away before my eyes. A startling realization washed over me.
I was number 201.
Consequently, I spent most of the evening beating myself up, especially for my bonehead move of going to the wrong door at first. I very well knew that a free book was at stake here. I should have jogged from the parking lot. I should have arrived a little earlier.
How could I have been so stupid?
But as Mitch spoke, I mellowed.
Mitch talked about the inspirations for his new novel, which is about a tough old man, a war veteran, who thinks his life has been insignificant, and his job — fixing rides at a seaside amusement park — is inconsequential.
On his 83rd birthday, the old man dies while attempting to save a little girl from falling cart. He arrives in heaven and meets five people whose lives he had unknowingly impacted during his time on earth (a’la “It’s a Wonderful Life”).
Important lessons ensue.
As he makes his way through heaven, he is consistently nagged by one question: “Did I save the little girl? Did my life end with redemption?”
Mitch said he was partially inspired by a story that his late professor, Morrie, always told him (If you haven’t read his non-fiction “Tuesday’s with Morrie,” do it!).
Here is the story he relayed:
The story is about a little wave, bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand ol’ time. He’s enjoying the wind and the fresh air — until he notices the other waves in front of him, crushing against the shore.
“My God this is terrible,” the wave says. “Look what’s going to happen to me!”
Then along comes another wave. He sees the first wave, looking grim, and says to him, “Why do you look so sad?”
The first wave says, “You don’t understand. We’re all going to crash! All of us waves are going to be next to nothing! Isn’t it terrible?”
The second wave says, “No, you don’t understand. You’re not a wave, you’re part of the ocean.”
The point was that everybody is connected with one another and, whether we realize it or not, we influence one another, for better or for worse. All lives influence others.
“What if Heaven isn’t the Garden of Eden?” Mitch asked. “What if Heaven is a place where people are waiting for you — some you know, some you don’t ... and they explain things to you. Where someone can explain to you, ‘Here’s why.’ That is the greatest gift God can give you — to understand why,’”
He then read some passages from his book, which was truly moving.
As I was sitting there listening, a thought hit me — by simple act of going to the wrong door, could I have inadvertently affected the life of somebody else?
What if number 200 was going through a particularly rough patch in her life and was looking for something — anything to hold on to?
What if that book provided her with just the hope she was needing at that point in her life?
Could being number 201 serve a more noble cause?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment