GENERAL GUIDELINES:
“Today is Eddie’s Birthday….” – we have read a number of snapshots in Albom’s book about Eddie’s birthdays. We also hear Mitch and Morrie discuss his “perfect day” in the last section of the book. I often say, “spiritual wellness is the glue that holds all the wellness dimensions together.” Using this as a premise, describe a future birthday (your 70 th to be exact) that you believe might be a “perfect day” of sorts like Morrie describes.
What would you do this day? Who would be present in your life? What would you want these people to say about you if you gathered for a party? Think about all dimensions of wellness in your answer – physical, intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual as you consider what areas of your life you hope to have in balance if you were to live to be 70 years old. Granted it is impossible to predict exactly how your life’s journey will develop; however, this essay should force you to think once again about some of your life’s priorities, goals, hopes and dreams. In particular, pay attention to the activities that go into describing a “perfect day” in your future, and ask yourself how many of these do you incorporate into your life right now? The real purpose of this essay is not so much to predict your future as it is to help you think about your current values and how they will shape your current life and this potential day in the far off distance. All of the wellness dimensions should be covered in your perfect day and the spiritual wellness component should receive some specific attention as the theme of the essay.
As you develop your thoughts, you must reference the book ONCE from The Five People You Meet in Heaven pages 179-196, along with another reference from Tuesdays With Morrie pages 160 -192 since the final conversations with Mitch also revolve around the themes of spiritual wellness and daily living. I recognize that your definition of spiritual wellness may differ from Mitch’s, Morrie’s, or Eddie’s, which is fine, but you can at least use these sections to develop your personal thoughts at this point in your life. As always, these books are meant to be “springboards” for thought and discussion, not dogma about how you should view the world.