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I have just read this in the Word for Today and it made me think.
Love is a Verb
“Love is not just a noun; it’s a verb. It’s not what you think or feel; it’s what you do.
When Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta in 1948, one of the first things she did was pick up five abandoned children and bring them to her ‘school’.
Before the year ended, she had forty-one students learning about hygiene in her classroom, which was in a public park. Soon her work became known as ‘The Missionaries of Charity’.
Within two years their attention was turned to the care of the dying, and a beggar found dying on a rubbish heap was picked up and brought to her. Hunger and suffering had reduced him to a virtual skeleton.
Mother Teresa took him home and put him in bed. When she tried to wash him, she discovered that his body was covered with worms. Pieces of skin came off as she bathed him.
For a brief moment the man revived. In his semi-conscious state he asked, ‘Why do you do it?’ Mother Teresa responded with two words that were the hallmark of her life: ‘For love!’
Busy person, it’s easy to see people as irritants and inconveniences standing in the way of your getting things done. What’s hard, is to rise above your self-centred feelings and love them.”
A remarkable woman
Mother Teresa’s unforgettable devotion to help the world’s poorest, most impoverished and vulnerable people left a lasting dent in the world.
Her remarkable leadership was even powerful enough to cut across conflicts and enemy lines — a strength clearly exemplified during the 1982 Siege of Beirut.
Mother Teresa managed to broker a temporary cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerrillas to rescue 37 children trapped in a front-line hospital. Teresa then travelled through the war zone alongside Red Cross workers to evacuate the young patients.
She was inspired
What inspired Mother Teresa’s tireless drive to help others?
Born in 1910 as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, she grew up in present day Macedonia. Perhaps influenced by her father’s death when she was only 8 years old, Mother Teresa already decided to commit herself to a religious life by the time she was 12.
Her real journey began in 1929 when she arrived in India where she became a nun and taught at a convent in Eastern Calcutta for several decades.
The 1943 Bengal famine which killed a staggering 2.1 million people was a life changing moment for Teresa and left an unshakable impression on her. After 20 years of teaching at the convent, she felt a “calling within a calling” and left her position as headmistress to aid the poor.
She gave everything up
Teresa then moved into the slums where she faced hunger, poverty and homelessness. Despite the lack of equipment and supplies, she found a way to open a school for poor children teaching them to read and write using sticks in the dirt.
Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed. A new community soon formed around Mother Teresa opening hospices, clinics and orphanages throughout India. Within a few years the mission went global.
By the 1970s, the congregation was helping orphans and those afflicted by addiction, poverty, disability, old age and disaster around the world. In 1979, Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work to overcome poverty and suffering.
Mother Teresa’s passed away in 1997 but congregation continues to live on to this day spreading Mother Teresa’s vision and serving those in need.
In 2016, the Catholic Church recognized Mother Teresa as a saint and canonized her as St. Teresa of Calcutta for her heroic virtue.
What an amazing life
What an amazing life she lived and what a legacy she left behind. She did it all for love, she simply loved the broken and the unloved.
She sacrificed everything to make a difference and what a difference she made!
Some profound quotes from Mother Theresa
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.”
“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
The true way to happiness is helping others
I have said many times in the past that the true way to happiness is helping others. It’s great to have a nice home, a nice job, a nice family and all the great things that go with that but is that enough to live a fulfilled content life?
To take life to the next level I challenge you to do something this week to help someone without anything in return and see how this makes you feel. You will be amazed at the unique emotion you feel. There is no other way to experience this feeling except by helping someone – try it.
A great day in Shrewsbury
This week I travelled to Shrewsbury to deliver my Mental Resilience Masterclass to the directors of WR Partners – a leading firm of Accountants. This was on behalf of PDW Group who I work with to deliver Mental Resilience for their clients.
They run an amazing Academy with a series of unique modules, and this is the launch Module. This was a great group who really enjoyed the afternoon, and the feedback was excellent. It is good to be back on the road face to face with clients.
Thoughts for the week
- What are your thoughts on helping people?
- Have you experienced the feelings of helping someone?
- This week try to find someone you can help with something.
- Observe the feelings you experience when you do this.
- I believe there must be more to life than just working, sleeping and eating.
Well that’s it for this week have a wonderful weekend and reach out to someone.
Warm regards
John
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