MINEO MORRIE SCHWARZ’S THEORY OF DETACHMENT

Morrie Schwarz was a Sociology professor at Brandeis University. Shortly after his passing, the famous memoir, Tuesdays with Morrie, was written by one of his students, Mitch Albom, and eventually published in 1997. Throughout the memoir, readers experience Morrie’s striking wisdom derived from his personal experiences As he endured traumatic experiences, such as losing his mother at the young age of eight and watching his older brother David endure Poliomyelitis (Polio), he was forced to mature. These scarring events left an everlasting effect on Morrie, which sparked his wisdom. His wisdom assisted with the development of his own theory: the theory of detachment His theory of detachment connects to everlasting ideologies of classical philosophical Daoism, and the religions Stoicism and Buddhism. This theory, being an analytical coping mechanism for emotion, was derived from the teachings of major religions in which he studied. He practiced this theory while facing the terminal illness, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), until his disquieting death

By generating his own theory with influences from modern day ideologies and religions, Morrie was able to thoroughly engage in his everyday life without his emotions overwhelming him. For instance, sitting in his chair became an enjoyable pleasure, and enjoying life for what it was became reality. Executing the theory of detachment allowed him to properly identify, cope, and then detach from certain emotions

Morrie faced many overwhelming emotions before his death; jealousy, envy, anger, sorrowfulness, downheartedness, and more. Facing a terminal illness affected Morrie’s capability to enjoy life without the activities he loved: dancing and swimming. In order to become satisfied with the way his life was before his death, he detached from a majority of emotions Despite being detached, he was not being ignorant toward his feelings. The memoir explains, “Loneliness: you let go, let the tears flow, feel it completely- but eventually be able to say, 'All right, that was my moment with loneliness. I’m not afraid of feeling lonely, but now I’m going to put that loneliness aside and know that there are other emotions in the world, and I’m going to experience them as well Detach'" (Albom 105) He fully immersed himself in the emotion in order to wholly feel it and then detached from the emotion entirely once he was fulfilled. As a result, there were no remainders, second guesses, or doubts afterward. He made it clear to himself that there were more emotions to feel in the world; in addition, there were more things to appreciate and experience other than that current point in time Nevertheless, by practicing his own theory of detachment, he was able to enjoy the time he had left. Rather than holding onto grudges, or feeling sorry for himself, he appreciated all aspects of his life, even the moments he did not feel lively.