Writing Feedback / Mother Teresa; Essay on Role Model [3]

Mother Teresa was an incredible individual that showed the world many things about religion, love
and compassion for mankind. She gave in service to the lord, glorifying God in her life and in her
career taking care of the less unfortunate. To understand Mother Teresa's worldview, a person would
have to look at her beliefs in God, the social issues she addressed to her country, and her dedication in
helping the poor and the terminally ill.
God was incorporated into Mother Teresa's life at a very young age; she came from a strong family
background of the Catholic faith. Her relationship with God dominated her life. At one point in her life
she thought that the only way to have a relationship with God was to join a monastery and be closed off
from the world. She became very disciplined in seeking God, and everything she did in her life revolved
around God.
She found prayer to be essential in her life and spent many hours in prayer communicating
with God. There are accounts where she did withhold from prayer due to the fact she thought her sins
were too great and she felt afraid to pray. She always repented for her sins by going to confession and
felt she was unworthy of God, and in her later years she felt cut off from him. She struggled deeply with
her faith during those times, yet remained faithful to God.
Her concept of God and mine differ in the fact that she had more knowledge of his teachings and
incorporated his teachings for a longer period of time, where as I am just discovering who God is and
what he stands for and my Christian worldview is still evolving. I lack the knowledge of God and I am just
now seeking him in my life. Mother Teresa's view of developing a relationship with God and mine
contrast. I do not feel ones need to be cut off from society to have God in my life, although I do agree
with her on the importance of incorporating prayer and repenting sin. I find prayer to be a very
important aspect of having an intimate relationship with God. I believe Mother Teresa is a great
advocate for seeking God, and following his teachings. I have great respect for her discipline (Allison,
Martin, Peers, Teresa, 2007).
Mother Teresa brought great awareness not only to the people but to many countries on the
concerns with the poor and terminally ill. Some thought she brought great shame to her country in
exposing the conditions of the poor. She brought the equation of love and compassion to the world,
causing people to take a closer look at themselves and how they treat one another. I believe her faith in
God gave her the courage to bring such awareness, during those very difficult times. She is an incredible
role model to follow in helping others and her strong beliefs in God. By her actions alone, people started
to reach out and help the needy who were in distress instead of ignoring the problems they faced
(Fox, Martin, 1994, 2007).
In working with the ill, Mother Teresa had very high standards. She thought one should live as the
poor to be able to assist them more efficiently; this way the people who aided the poor would be on
equal terms. She was very stern with her practices and with the nuns who assisted her. The nuns, who
assisted Mother Teresa with the poor and ill, had no medical background, they served the ill with love
and compassion. They did simple services such as the changing of bandages, giving food and aided with
prayer. Many people came to her while they were in dire need, when other hospitals turned them
away. Occasionally, a doctor would call in to see if they could help, but most of the care given was love
and compassion. The remarkable thing is that many people did get better and were able to leave. My
view contrasts with hers in the fact that I do not feel ones need to live like the poor to understand them
or work with them (Fox 1994).
Mother Teresa's worldview and my own worldview contrast on some issues but the discrepancies
are small if you look at the broader picture. I admire her for her belief in God and working with the poor.
She brought great awareness to many people about God, the poor, and many social issues. Some people
say she was a saint, some say she was a celebrity and then some say she did things for her own benefit. I
find Mother Teresa to be a very interesting individual and people could learn many things from her. She
has set a great example to many people on the issues of God, and prayer and reaching outside one's self
to help others. She was so giving in nature, and sought no praise for herself in her workings; the only
thing she wanted was for God to love her. She was completely dedicated to God, and everything she
did was to bring glory to him.

Writing Feedback / "Pain is not a pleasant feeling" ; Analyzing the concept "PAIN" [6]

Paper about Pain

Pain is not a pleasant feeling; it captivates a person's attention. It's fearful, demanding and even
exhausting. Pain heightens our senses, narrowing down a person's focus, causing the outside world to
dissipate. Pain with its interwoven layers, being physical, emotional and yes even spiritual cause's tears of
anguish. It weighs the nervous system, making a person want to be held in the safety of their mother's
arms, always looking for some type of relief. "Mama, help me!" are the cries of many.
When walking down the street or in a store and seeing someone with a cast or severe bruises often
time's people wonder what happened. Some people shy away from the sight of these predicaments, afraid
that they might catch something. It is often the times when someone experiences pain and when
recognized, an understanding of compassion takes place. Some tend to reach out in conversation asking
questions, curiosity getting the better of them. Other times someone might go out of their way to assist
someone who looks like they are in pain, some of us go to great lengths to avoid an individual having
physical symptoms of pain. Whether being in pain ourselves or not there seems to be a common bond in
the fear of pain. There seems to be a stigma about pain, and the mixed feelings of seeing someone as a
result of pain or the thoughts of pain. Fear seems to be the underlying component here.
Physical pain is classified into two categories, Acute and Chronic. Acute pain is a sudden displeasure.
Its affects are somewhat brief, lasting from a day to a month. It is specific in its nature, a broken arm,
cuts and bruises, even childbirth." What a relief!" Chronic pain is more intense, muscle tension, nagging
headaches, sleep deprivation, feelings of no control, maybe even the loss of mobility. It takes away happy
thoughts, and depression might help in contributing to the pain levels increasing ( Fernadez, Ruiz,
Saiguero, 2011,& Cho, Heiby, Lee, McCracken, Moon,2010).
Some people say emotional pain is the worst. Emotions playing off of fear based anxiety, with
outbursts of anger, isolating family members while friendships start to disappear, leaving the sufferer with
only the detaching silence and feelings of disconnection, loss and helplessness. Take into consideration of
a person suffering from a broken neck being placed in a halo. A tight vest wrapped around the torso with
metal rods enclosing the skull and metal screws embedded into the skin of the skull securing the
apparatus. Their emotional feelings of disconnect from lack of physical contact, lack of independence,
loss of mobility and being able to dress themselves. It is humbling, being reduced to such a state of
helplessness. The duration lasting for months, being unable to get dressed, bath, look beautiful. It takes a
toll on a person's emotional state of the individual. Tears falling often, anger consuming their thoughts.
The constant plea for help, a loss of understanding asking them what happened. Is god punishing me?
What about the family that is suffering in silence as there is no comfort in emotional pain? One becomes
so focused on the injury, they are not able to take a step back and see the family is suffering right with
them. Going outside in public is not an option with people stopping in their tracks, staring, with quiet
conversations of the shock of such a sight, feelings of shame taking place. Is god the answer here? Does
he hear the emotional cries of anguish, despair and consuming fear? One must stop and consider the
spiritual pain in this instance. It is consuming, emotional pain wears a person down so much that it starts
to affect their soul. "Oh God!, where are you?", these are often the cries of the emotional drained person
in pain (Cho, Heiby, Lee, McCracken , Moon, 2010).
Spiritual pain needs more than a prescription; it needs a listener, a staff of highly trained individuals all
coming together for ones spiritual illness. A person suffering from the soul level is looking for harmony
in their lives, making a connection, alignment with god. This is no easy task. It renders the heart of not
only the ill but the caretakers. For the people who cannot speak it is all about physical touch,
communicating that they are not alone, that someone cares for them. Spiritual pain can be a very lonely
place. It is through communication that a person can deal with certain life experiences bringing closure. It
is like tying up all the loose ends that hold a person back from the cross over between life and death. In
assisting someone with spiritual pain it is wise for the caretaker to have a strong spiritual back ground.
This does not mean that they have to be religious. It's an understanding of the process of dying that comes
into affect here ( Kearney, nd).
When looking at the different types of pain, whether physical, or emotional, and possibly spiritual,
one must go further and consider the individuality of the person, their family ties and a connection with
god. It can be crippling on many levels. Physical pain can be treated by doctors and the natural process of
the body healing system. Emotional pain is often times more difficult to treat. There are many physicians
to help aid an individual with this dilemma. Spiritual pain needs more time and focus. It is a process of
self discovery, maybe even healings of their past life experiences. When dealing with a person in pain it is
wise to take a step back, not to judge them and give the sufferer support, show compassion. Most of us
have suffered from some type of pain, on many different levels. All of humanity has suffered some type
of pain and the questions remain, "Why do we run from it?", is it because the brain, the heart and the soul
can be affected? Is there a common bond between the sufferings of one? Do people feel each other's
pain? The association between a person's pain and a bystander often times gets mixed up. A person
might not have an injury to feel someone else's pain. It is natural to feel some type of emotion when faced
with the word pain. Often times the mind will automatically bring back some type of memory of pain
association when just the word is spoken. Given a vast amount of time pain can be diminished if treated
accordingly. It does not have to be a lonely experience. Maybe love is the answer here; maybe love heals
all the wounds of the flesh and spirit. Pain is a common bond between all mankind.