Quote Of the Day By Mother Teresa: 5 Poignant Lessons in Compassion from 'The Angel of Mercy'

Quote of the Day by Mother Teresa: It has been decades since Mother Teresa passed, but the tales of her selfless service to humanity have made her position as one of the most recognisable symbols of compassion in the world, concrete. She dedicated her life to caring for the sick, the destitute and the dying leading with a very simple message - that the smallest acts of kindness can leave the most lasting impact. Her humanitarian work was rightly acknowledged globally, culminating in a Nobel Peace Prize win in 1979. That being said, her words left an equally potent mark, especially for those searching for compassion in an increasingly disassociated world.Mother Teresa was born as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje - then a part

of the Ottoman Empire, today, the capital of North Macedonia. She joined the Sisters of Loreto as a teenager and moved to India in 1929. Spending decades in the service of others and the greater good, she founded the Missionaries of Charity in October, 1950. The congregation was devoted to helping those living in extreme poverty. She passed away on September 5, 1997, at the age of 87. But the one message to take away from her life trajectory and work, is the belief that small acts of love can in fact, change the world.

Banish Judgement

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."The message here in Mother Teresa's quote is simple - where there is judgement, there is no love. Because the inherent nature of judgement implies a sense of superiority and love in its purest form cannot carry that dynamic in any which way. This is not to say that pure love should be overlooking faults and mistakes - Mother Teresa's quote here instead, urges us to cultivate empathy as an indelible part of the love we give out into the world.

Pure Love is a Rare Currency

"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread."This quote of Mother Teresa pits two very damning versions of poverty against each other - one implying the hunger of the body, and the other the starvation of the soul. While malnutrition and the global food crisis is no doubt a severely pressing issue in its own right, this quote from Mother Teresa urges us to reflect on the lack of love and compassion in the world not only being severe, but also vastly unaddressed.Also Read: Quote Of The Day By Virat Kohli: 5 Lessons In Discipline and Determination from King Kohli

Give Without Keeping Score

"It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving." Wanting to be great is a noble intention. But realistically speaking not everyone achieves it. It's like Mother Teresa says - not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love. Even the smallest step in the right direction, serving someone other that ourselves and done with great love, could be enough to change the trajectory of their life. It's not about how much we achieved - it's about how earnestly we got there and how many people we took along with us.

Strength in Unity

"I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things."This quote from Mother Teresa is particularly insightful. It rightly points out that everyone cannot do everything. But more than that, it expands that possibility inwards as well. However, just as every drop contributes to the making of the ocean, most 'greatness' is achieved only as a unit. This quote of hers stresses on the importance of honouring collaboration over competition for the greater good.

The Present is a Present

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."Often times our heart and intentions are in the right place. But it is human tendency to keep on waiting for the 'right time' to act on it. This quote from Mother Teresa highlights how the only thing guaranteed is the present. So if we have 'greatness' to achieve and good to do, it is best to start right in this moment, because neither is there any point in dwelling over the time that has passed, nor is there much merit in fixating on a future we haven't lived yet.