Sunday, September 2, 2007

mother teresa van morrison and an open mind

• 'Do not wait for leaders. Do it alone, person to person'. Mother Teresa
I was thinking about Mother Teresa, not so much her but her ability to pack lightly. I was going to go find a picture to post, but then found this quote.
Too many times we wait not only for leaders, but for groups to make our decisions for us, wait to hear all the pros and cons. We are a society of by and far void of original thought.
There are two most mournful sounds, a train whistle blowing at night and a fog horn blowing. Van Morrison. Mother Teresa. Roy Oberson. Miles Davis.
What will my children remember about me? I was unable to pack even my shoes in a carry on bag. They could make me laugh easily by a finger to the forehead, head cocked to the side, and say, 'just let me think about this for a minute...' so annoying when they can do you! Probably my kindness, I think it is a genetic affliction. I may not have all my belongs fit into a carry on bag, but what I do have and you need, please be my guest. Isn't it why you have stuff?
Too many times, the one time I would go into work I would have forgotten to bring or buy socks in the winter, that would be the day we would have 5 or 6 homeless men come in and need them. It is not a big thing, really - probably did not even make a dent in the nights spent outdoors in wet, cold socks. It meant something to me, one night this one night those feet would be warm. What a little thing to do, and don't I have enough socks to make a full monkey zoo?! Truthfully, when your feet are frostbitten, you don't really care that they are not matched socks. Clean and warm is a commodity.
Simply, Mother Teresa lived simply, no husband(s), no child(ren), no dog(s), no grandchild(ren). Her work was present every day, presented itself to her every day.
Ramblings of a moving woman, wanna read more?

2 comments:

lime said...

it's the simple things that seem to mean so much and make such a huge difference.

Jacob said...

And wasn't the day before yesterday the tenth anniversary of her death? And you posted this several days prior to that anniversary, effectively predicting her death plus ten years? Wow.

Seems so simple.