“Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.” ~Mother Teresa
I’m not easily starstruck or impressed by others, but I do have a shortlist of those whom I greatly admire and Mother Teresa is the frontrunner. The above quote is one of my favorites!
Yes, Mother Teresa is my hero!
You have to love a woman who can influence the masses by focusing on one person at a time!
Lizzo is pretty high on my list, too, so it’s a pretty diverse list of rockstar humans. While she comes in behind Brené Brown, Dana Morningstar, and the Dalai Lama—mad props to Lizzo for owning her awesome.
I’ll be devastated if Lizzo ever stops playing the flute, goes “keto” or gets a boob job and porcelain veneers.
On those days when I feel a little less-than in my 46-year-old skin, I put on Good As Hell, do a (slightly graying) hair toss, check my nails, and embrace my fine ass self. As I should!!
Because of Lizzo, I feel no shame when I throw down on copious amounts of sweet potato fries. And I no longer feel compelled to do 5,000 kettlebell swings afterward.
Lizzo has done for the self-esteem of women what Mother Teresa has done for the poor, sick, and hungry. And while Lizzo is also helping the masses, she has managed to do so by focusing on loving one human wholly—herself. We can all afford to cultivate more self-love because you can only love someone else as much as you love yourself.
Back to Mother Teresa…
What I love most about Mother Teresa is the value she placed on helping one soul at a time.
I feel like I am of a dying breed who still sees the value in trying to change the world ONE HUMAN at a time.
A bit odd considering this is coming from a girl who suffers from a severe addiction to “more.” Whether it be kettlebells, sweet potato fries, shoes, or wine—what I suffer from is a disease of “more”! I call it moreitis. (While moreitis is not an official word, I believe it should be a formal diagnosis and warrants being added to the DSM.)
Regardless of my moreitis, I still have the wherewithal to know the gifts I have been blessed with are best shared on a smaller, more humble scale. This is likely the only area in my life where I haven’t felt compelled to push for more, more, more. Perhaps because I strive to be led in this area by something outside of myself. Whatever the case may be, I hope I continue to stand firm in this.
Again, back to Mother Teresa! Here is another one of my favorite quotes from MamaT:
“I never look at the masses as my responsibility; I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time – just one, one, one. So you begin. I began – I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn’t pick up that one person, I wouldn’t have picked up forty-two thousand…The same thing goes for you, the same thing in your family, the same thing in your church, your community. Just begin – one, one, one.”
Mother Teresa
I just love that! She helped sO many people, but her focus was never on her legacy or achieving international fame. And I am confident she never strategized about how to generate a passive income or run group sessions.
Her purpose was pure, and that gave her the power to help so many. One soul at a time…
I will refrain from details about the ugliness I have seen veiled under the guise of “helping people”. All I will say is that I’m disenchanted by the direction businesses are going with group everything—training/coaching/healing. There seems to be a trend of turning every single helping profession into a McDonald’s.
It seems the masses are capitalizing on where the healthcare industry is failing. People are ready to invest their time, money, and attention to new solutions since the cost of healthcare is so perversely overinflated. It saddens me to see how many hugely talented professionals are selling out for the sake of generating more revenue.
I understand why, though. For those of us who have big giant hearts on our sleeves, we are walking targets for the opportunist! And no matter how great your intentions, it can be hard to make ends meet when your sole purpose in life is to help people. Our kind rarely set out to “make money.” We offer fee scale discounts and service exchanges. We volunteer our time to those who don’t have the means to pay for our services. We open our businesses and hearts up to those at their rock-bottom—all for the sake of helping them reach higher ground.
I LIVE for the gratitude expressed to me by those whom I have had the honor of helping! One human at a time…
That’s all fine and good, but we still have mortgages to pay and mouths to feed. Unfortunately, AT&T and Capital One do not accept gratitude or good intentions as payment.
This conundrum has led me down a few rabbit holes myself. When an opportunist dangles a carrot that promises financial security, and a passive income for doing what we love, it’s tempting! Unfortunately, anyone who has taken the bait before knows how sharp that hook is…and how hard it can be to get unstuck!
Getting “unstuck” is something I have so much experience with, I’ve made a career out of it.
Getting unstuck is hard, but possible! A little guidance, support, and accountability are invaluable to this process though. And in such a vulnerable state, having a person’s undivided attention is imperative. That is why I do what I do.
So mad props to my tribe of helping professionals who sometimes find yourself struggling to make ends meet because there is a Reiki franchise opening next door to your the Wellness Center. Please keep at it! Channel your inner Mother Teresa, and cling to the teachings of the Dalai Lama. I’m a believer in Karma! Keep doing good, and the good will come full circle.
The impact you have on the ONE soul in front of you holds so much more value than a diluted and scripted version of you. Remember why you started this journey, believe in the good you do, and hold onto the faith that all things are possible when you align yourself with what your true purpose is.
And to my people who see the value in my breed of healers and helpers, THANK YOU!
I too have been seduced by the shiny new pop-up wellness gimmick found on Groupon more times than I care to admit. Who can turn down a good bargain, promising gimmick, or a quick fix? However, I always find my way back to what matters most—the professionals who retain their integrity and continue to place value on helping one human at a time.
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