RD#4

Natalie Weber

#RD4

English 200

29 April 2019

1,020 Words

Selflessness

It’s easy to get caught up in the fast paced, selfish world we live in today.  Although it is important to overcome one’s own struggles and focus on personal growth, this creates an overall environment where individuals are solely concerned about themselves.  This leads to a lack of concern for one’s surroundings and community. Many are so worried about their own well being that the well being of their environment and others goes unnoticed.  To be truly selfless is a rare quality in the modern world. Many things can be learned from those who have dedicated their lives to others. Through selfless actions they have not only improved the meaning of their own lives, but also the lives of many others.  Selflessness is defined as the concern more with the needs and wishes of others than with one’s own. I believe selflessness is one of the most important human quality and is a vital attribute to the improvement of society. [THESIS] The world greatly benefits from the impact of selfless individuals and it is in our best interest to practice this endearing trait. [THESIS]

One such individual is Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, popularly known as Mother Teresa. Regarded as one of the twentieth century’s greatest humanitarians, Mother Teresa dedicated her life to helping the sick and poor. She began her journey as a teacher in India, where she says she experienced her first calling. In 1946 her order opened a hospice, established centers for the disabled, and founded a leper colony. She completed various levels of medical training in order to travel outside of her convent to aid the less fortunate.  She began an open-air school and established a home for the dying in a building she convinced the city government to donate to her cause. In October 1950, she won canonical recognition for a new congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, which she founded in order to aid her cause for charity. As the ranks of her congregation swelled and donations poured in from across the globe, the scope of Mother Teresa’s charitable activities expanded exponentially. Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s, she established a leper colony, an orphanage, a nursing home, a family clinic and a string of mobile health clinics.

In 1971, Mother Teresa traveled to New York City to open her first American-based house of charity. In 1979 she was recognized by the Norwegian Nobel Committee and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in honor of her charitable efforts. She continued these practices into her final years, travelling to Lebanon in the summer of 1982 where she crossed between Christian East Beirut and Muslim West Beirut to aid children of both faiths. In 1985, Mother Teresa returned to New York and spoke at the 40th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly. While there, she also opened Gift of Love, a home to care for those infected with HIV/AIDS.

Since her death, Mother Teresa has remained in the public spotlight as one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century. She combined profound empathy and a fervent commitment to her cause with incredible organizational and managerial skills that allowed her to develop a vast and effective international organization of missionaries to help impoverished citizens all across the globe. On September 4th, 2016 Mother Teresa was canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic church.  On the nineteenth anniversary of her passing, the Vatican honored her decades of humanitarian and charity work as tens of thousands of Catholics and pilgrims celebrated her hard work and dedication.  Mother Teresa was the true definition of selflessness in all aspects of her life, making herself available for everyone through her defense of human life. Mother Teresa said, “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.”

Another example of selflessness is a mother’s love. My mother is an individual who I greatly admire for her acts of selflessness. I believe she went above and beyond to ensure that I would have a beneficial childhood and continues to do so every day for my younger siblings.  Although I am now adult, she constantly makes sure I am benefiting from my life decisions and is continuously concerned with my well being.

I wish that at a young age I would have been able to grasp how much she sacrificed for me. Although she continued to work and go to graduate school, she put off multiple opportunities and career advancements in order to ensure that she could spend quality time with me throughout early childhood.

My Mother

I try to practice selflessness everyday. I believe incorporating small selfless actions into a daily routine can greatly benefit a person’s quality of life and the lives of others. Some selfless acts I enjoy putting in to practice include picking up trash, holding the door open for someone, donating to charities, and helping others in whatever ways that I can. I believe if everyone made an effort to be a little selfless and practice selfless acts, the world would be a significantly better place. I hope we can all be inspired by individuals who embody selflessness and use them as an example to put this admirable trait into practice.