These were people so hungry ...

These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. There were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back. But it never works. You can't substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship. Money is no substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you as I'm sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you're looking for, no matter how much of them you have.
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 Morrie Schwartz

Quotes from the same author

We have a sense that we should be like the mythical cowboy... able to take on and conquer anything and live in the world without the need for other people.
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 Morrie Schwartz
My contention is that as long as you have other faculties-the emotional, psychological, intuitive faculties-you haven't lost yourself or even diminished yourself. Don't be ashamed when you're physically limited or dysfunctional; don't think that you're any less because of your condition. In fact, I feel I am even more myself than I was before I got this illness because I have been able to transcend many of the psychological and emotional limitations I had before I developed ALS.
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 Morrie Schwartz
When you look at it that way, you can see how absurd it is that we individualize ourselves with our fences and hoarded possessions.
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 Morrie Schwartz
Keep your heart open for as long as you can, as wide as you can, for others and especially for yourself.
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 Morrie Schwartz
Acceptance is not a talent you either have or don't have. It's a learned response. My meditation teacher made a great point about the difference between a reaction and a response: You may not have control over your initial reaction to something, but you can decide what your response will be. You don't have to be at the mercy of your emotions, and acceptance can be your first step toward empowerment . . . For me, acceptance has been the cornerstone to my having an emotionally healthy response to my illness.
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 Morrie Schwartz