Quote 25
"But it's hard to explain, Mitch. Now that I'm suffering, I feel closer to people who suffer than I ever did before. The other night, on TV, I saw people in Bosnia running across the street, getting fired upon, killed, innocent victims… and I just started to cry. I feel their anguish as if it were my own." (8.22)
Morrie's heart is so filled with compassion that he is moved by things that he sees on the nightly news—things that happen to people somewhere else in the world. He's not saying that he understands exactly what they're going through, but he says that since he knows what suffering is firsthand, his heart goes out to them.
Quote 26
There was a momentary silence, and I'm not ever sure why I offered, but Morrie looked at Connie and said, "Can you show him how to do it?" (9.21)
Mitch, who at first felt uncomfortable even visiting Morrie, is now offering to help the nurse take care of him. He's learning compassion simply by being around somebody who is suffering, and now he wants to take a part in helping his friend, Morrie.
Quote 27
"Here's what I sent her back," Morrie told Koppel, perching his glasses gingerly on his nose and ears. "'Dear Barbara… I was very moved by your letter. I feel the work you have done with the children who have lost a parent is very important. I also lost a parent at an early age…'" (11.16)
One of the things that make Morrie so compassionate during these last months is that he's constantly reaching out to strangers who are suffering. Hundreds of people are sending in letters asking for responses to their suffering, asking to commiserate with Morrie's own suffering.