Five Lessons From TFPYMH

Five Lessons from the book "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom

The First Lesson:

"That there are no random acts. That we are all connected. That you can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind."

There are no random events in life. People are all connected in one way or another.

The Second Lesson:

" Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to. Little sacrifices. Big sacrifices."

"Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else".

Sacrifice is a part of life. We make small and big sacrifices for the people who are important to us.  When I was assigned to work here in Japan in 2007, we moved here as a family. My 2 daughters continued their studies at the Canadian International School here in Kobe (thanks to my employer). When both of them graduated from high school, they had to leave Japan to study in college. I can not give up my job to be with them. So I have to sacrifice for them and they also have to sacrifice living away from their parents.  This is a big sacrifice for all of us, but we trust God's plan for us.

The Third Lesson: 

"Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves."

Eddie hated his father so much that's why it was so hard for him to forgive his father.  His father treated him badly when he was a kid until he got older. His father had caused him so much emotional damage and it was hard for him to forgive and forget what his father had done to him.

No matter how bad a person has harmed you, you must learn to forgive and forget.  Otherwise, you will just do more harm to yourself.  Release anger and learn the valuable art of forgiveness. That's what I did. I learned to forgive and forget this person who betrayed me and hurt me badly.  I felt much better and at peace after doing that. 

"Forgive. That's because no one is born with anger. And when we die, the soul is freed of it."

"In order to move on, you must understand why you felt what you did, and why you no longer need to feel it."

The Fourth Lesson 

Love is never lost even in death.

"Lost love is still love." 

"Life has to end, love doesn't."

The Fifth Lesson

Everyone has a purpose on this earth. We are all here for a reason.

Through the fifth person whom he met in heaven, Eddie finally realized his purpose on earth which made him appreciate the life that he lived that he once thought as meaningless.