SSA Celebrity: Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa (1910 – 1997) founded the Missionaries of Charity, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. Their vow is to give “Wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor”. In 1979 Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1999, a poll of Americans ranked her first in Gallup’s List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century.
We have assessed Mother Teresa as an SSA for her primary MDNA Profile. To us, she is the most famous SSA in modern history.
It would be very easy to see Mother Teresa as a primary IAF (Intuitive Alignment & fulfillment) because of her merciful compassion. However, upon close examination on not what she did, but why and how she made a difference, the SSA becomes very apparent.
One core trait that stands out the most for the SSA is what can be described as being “without guile.” The definition of guile is to be treacherous, cunning, skillful and deceitful. The SSA couldn’t be any more opposite. There are absolutely no ulterior motives or secondary agendas for the SSA—especially when meeting the tangible and practical needs of others. This is one of the outstanding qualities of Mother Teresa.
“We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa
According to Wikipedia, Mother Teresa has been described as having virtually no understanding of a cynical or godless point of view that could consider any human being less than absolutely valuable. Others have been especially struck by Mother Teresa’s lack of rage or indignation. She refused to become a “social critic.” She never attacked the economic or political structures of the cultures that were producing the abjectly poor people she was serving. For her, the primary rule was a constant love, despite social critics or religious reformers choosing to vent anger at the evils of structures underlying poverty and suffering. Mother Teresa always continued to strike an apolitical pose, refusing to take a stand on anything other than strictly religious matters. Again, these are all quintessential qualities of the SSA that prefers to simply serve without guile.
The SSA also prefers to avoid the social spotlight. To the SSA, building platforms of success as servant leaders is far more important. The sheer number of other servant leaders that joined Mother Teresa’s mission is a perfect expression of this. Another was in 1979, when Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. True to the SSA, she refused the conventional ceremonial banquet given to laureates, and asked that the $192,000 funds be given to the poor in India, stating that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her help the world’s needy. Through her sacrificial serving, she became an authority that the world recognized and followed.
As always, we point out that the true SSA is very difficult to find in today’s popular media because they are the unsung heroes of our world. Thankfully, Mother Teresa is celebrated as an inspiration to us all for how the SSA can truly make a difference.
Will the world ever know another Mother Teresa? Maybe not in the media, but servant leaders like her are all around us. If you are one of these SSA’s, we recognize and thank you.
“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.” – Mother Teresa
Please note that these are unofficial profiles only and have not been verified. Description is only based upon public information and may represent either primary or secondary MDNA profiles. This profile is intended for educational purposes only to demonstrate the possibilities of MDNA for those that have been personally assessed.
