Saints among us ...

These are Mother Teresa's words:

"People are often unreasonable and self'-centered.  Forgive them anyway. 
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you.  Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.  Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway." 

That's wonderful advice and Mother Teresa was well qualified to pass it down to us.  I have enormous respect for this woman who took a vow of poverty and lived out her life in the service of God.  Was she perfect?  No.  She never claimed to be.  But she walked through this world on a much higher plane than the rest of us.

Mother Teresa's words - coming direct from her - inspire me to try harder to be a better person.

Mother Teresa's words - coming from my peers - cause me to laugh out loud.  And - God forgive me - there's a touch of scorn in my laughter.  

The truth is ... we're all crippling along through life the best we can ... hoping to hold steady down the middle of the road ... trying hard to stay out of the ditches on either side.   It's the work of a lifetime, pulling friends, neighbors and family out of the mud over and over again and being pulled out of those same muddy ditches ourselves - by those same dear friends, neighbors and family - over and over again.   We're all in this together.  We're all equal.

No one is superior - or inferior - to anyone else.   Our best works are, more often than not, overshadowed by our worst failures.    

No one needs to quote Mother Teresa to me.  I know her work well.   But if they do quote her, I hope they will preface the words by saying, "I, myself, fall way short of living by Mother Teresa's beliefs, but I keep trying to improve myself.  I want to be better."

I have great respect and understanding for fellow human beings who - like me - want to become better.  I have no respect at all for people who think they already are.




Email:  MelindaGerner@yahoo.com