Love- the single most valuable emotion coveted by every individual on earth. You might not remember the wealthiest person or the person with the most power. They feel impersonal, distant maybe. But you will remember the person whom you love the most or someone who left a mark on your life.
That, my friend, is the power of LOVE
I always associate the word love with Mother Teresa. She is the epitome of love and kindness in this dystopian world. Being a woman of intense faith and devotion, her ultimate priority was helping people in need.
Because of that, she dedicated her entire life to empowering the disenfranchised. She taught the world the power of kindness. A lesson that we revisit now and again, courtesy of the legacy left behind by the Nobel laureate.
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Birthdate of Mother Teresa: 26 August 1910
Date of Demise: 5 September 1997
Zodiac Sign: Virgo
Teresa was best known for her contribution in opening Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation with over 5,167 branches that tended to social outcasts and people in need. To date, even after Teresa’s passing, these congregations manage homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and TB.
Imagine leaving behind such a winsome footprint in the lives of people. So much so, that your teachings and ideologies live on long after your physical demise. Truly, Teresa’s life and her principles are worth praising.
That is why famous Astro strategist- Hirav Shah brings you 2-life-changing principles that we must adopt from the teachings of benevolent Mother Teresa:
Forget and forgive:
One of many acts of benevolence by Teresa accounted for an emotional anecdote. Something that I will share with you through this blog.
Teresa once found a woman from a garbage dump. She was burning with fever and it was evident that she was taking her last breaths. In her dying moments, her only lament was: ‘My son did this to me.’
Teresa remembered saying, “You must forgive your son. In a moment of madness, when he was not himself, he did a thing he regrets. Be a mother to him, forgive him.” After a long pause, the woman sincerely replied, “I forgive my son.” Just before she died, she was able to leave her grievances at bay and depart the earthly world in peace.
There will be times when we can’t go past the wrongdoings done by someone. The more we hold onto those grudges, the more it will eat us away. Teresa believed in being the bigger person and forgiving the past. Even if it’s you, who needs forgiveness, forgive yourself. Reflect on your mistakes and let them go.
Money doesn’t guarantee happiness:
Teresa had once said, “The more you have, the more you are occupied, the less you give. But the less you have the freer you are. Poverty for us is freedom. It is not mortification, a penance. It is joyful freedom. There is no television here, no this, no that. But we are perfectly happy.”
When you are full of riches and enjoy certain privileges in life, you become disconnected from the outer world. You start living in this dystopian world where money is everything. You become more occupied and your time becomes limited. This doesn’t guarantee happiness.
Rather, real happiness comes with charity and helping those in need. Real happiness comes from spending quality time with your loved ones. Remember, think good and do good. Then only you can be truly happy.
Conclusion:
“A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, must empty ourselves. The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace.”
-Mother Teresa
Imagine this; you have just got your first salary. It isn’t much but it’s enough to feed someone three times a day. It is also enough to buy that dress you saw online.
What would you rather do? Feed a needy who probably hasn’t eaten in days or buy that dress you have been wanting for quite some time.
I know, the choice is difficult and is in no way fair for you. But what would you rather do? By buying yourself a dress, you are filling up a small space in your already full closet. But by buying someone 3-times worth of meal, you are saving a precious life.
The joy we receive by doing good is far greater than our materialistic greed. And perhaps, this is what Teresa had been preaching her entire life- concludes India’s favourite Astro Strategist™ Hirav Shah.
