--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the West we have a tendency to be…" description: "\"In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/mother-teresa-196_active_in-the-west-we-have-a-tendency-to-be-pro_1774038.jpg" --- # In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented… ![“In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more active to generate results. In the East-especially in India-I find that people are more content to just be, to just sit around under a banyan tree…” quote by Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/mother-teresa-196_active_in-the-west-we-have-a-tendency-to-be-pro_1774038.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/mother-teresa-196_active_in-the-west-we-have-a-tendency-to-be-pro_1774038.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/mother-teresa-196_active_in-the-west-we-have-a-tendency-to-be-pro_1774038.jpg) > “In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more active to generate results. In the East-especially in India-I find that people are more content to just be, to just sit around under a banyan tree for half a day chatting to each other. We Westerners would probably call that wasting time. But there is value to it. Being with someone, listening without a clock and without anticipation of results, teaches us about love. The success of love is in the loving-it is not in the result of loving.” [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Spending unhurried time with others fosters love, beyond measurable outcomes. **In simple terms:** Being present with others builds love, not results. Key Takeaway Value time spent listening without expectations. Themes love presence mindfulness Mood peaceful reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - friendship - family gatherings - meditation sessions - cultural exchanges Key Concepts philosophy spirituality psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can societies honor both productivity and mindful presence? - What practices encourage non‑goal‑oriented connection? A Different Perspective Western focus on productivity may undervalue contemplative practices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Anticipation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anticipation/) [Caught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caught/) [Caught up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caught-up/) [Chatting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chatting/) [Chatting Westerners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chatting-westerners-1805537/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [India](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/india/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Profit Oriented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit-oriented-449457/) [Result Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/result-loving-1805539/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Tendencies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendencies/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Wasting time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasting-time/) [West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west/) [Westerners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/westerners/) [Westerners Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/westerners-probably-1805538/) ## Related quotes > [“In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/in-the-west-we-have-a-tendency-to-be-profit-oriented-where-everything-2/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [A commercial civilization is money-oriented, profit-oriented. Commercial values always tend to wrench a society free of tradition.Economics from education to public service is being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/a-commercial-civilization-is-money-oriented-profit-oriented/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [A successful trader is rational, analytical, able to control emotions, practical, and profit oriented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monroe-trout/a-successful-trader-is-rational-analytical-able-to-control-emotions/) [Monroe Trout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monroe-trout/) > [The thing is, people can't complain about profit-oriented moves if they're only interested in profit themselves. You can't have it both ways. If they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/the-thing-is-people-can-t-complain-about-profit-oriented-moves-if/) [Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/) > [Muslims, who have a completely different value system, come to the West, then they should accept that there are certain basic values in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/muslims-who-have-a-completely-different-value-system-come-to-the-west/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [A youth with wings are the assurance of our nation's future. We must start to work right away and make progress so that; if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustafa-kemal-ataturk/a-youth-with-wings-are-the-assurance-of-our-nation-s-future-we-must/) [Mustafa Kemal Ataturk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mustafa-kemal-ataturk/) > [Incredibly deep research combines with the talents of a fine historian and writer to produce superb narrative history. 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There were the religious police; there were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/i-lived-in-saudi-arabia-in-the-late-1970s-it-was-for-a-westerner/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [This, I believe, is the great Western truth: that each of us is a completely unique creature and that, if we are ever to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/this-i-believe-is-the-great-western-truth-that-each-of-us-is-a/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The Dalai Lama, these days, encourages Westerners not to take up Buddhism, partly because he feels that our roots are deep in other traditions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-these-days-encourages-westerners-not-to-take-up/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [“To most Westerners, the Philippines suffers from a lack of exoticism. Simply put, Philippine culture is just too accessible. To a young Western backpacker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-martin/to-most-westerners-the-philippines-suffers-from-a-lack-of-exoticism/) [Steven Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-martin/) > [The entrenched beliefs many westerners profess about Islam often reveal more about the West than they do about Islam or Muslims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/the-entrenched-beliefs-many-westerners-profess-about-islam-often/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [Political correctness is a major defect of the western ethos. Some Western countries have even passed blasphemy laws that would put you in legal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/political-correctness-is-a-major-defect-of-the-western-ethos-some/) [Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/) > [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion (to which few members of other religions were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/the-west-won-the-world-not-by-the-superiority-of-its-ideas-or-values/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) ## More by Mother Teresa > [Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/love-is-a-fruit-in-season-at-all-times-and-within-the-reach-of-every/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [All works of love are works of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/all-works-of-love-are-works-of-peace/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Speak in a low, persuasive tone. Listen; be teachable. Laugh at good stories and learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/keep-the-corners-of-your-mouth-turned-up-speak-in-a-low-persuasive/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Holy living consists in doing God's work with a smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/holy-living-consists-in-doing-god-s-work-with-a-smile/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [I don't look at anything. Every person whether he is Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist, he is my brother, my sister. I think we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/i-don-t-look-at-anything-every-person-whether-he-is-hindu-muslim-or/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We may not be able to give much but we can always give the joy that springs in a heart that is in LOVE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-may-not-be-able-to-give-much-but-we-can-always-give-the-joy-that/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/maybe-if-i-didn-t-pick-up-that-one-person-i-wouldn-t-have-picked-up/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We too are called to withdraw at certain intervals into deeper silence and aloneness with God, together as a community as well as personally;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-too-are-called-to-withdraw-at-certain-intervals-into-deeper/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/people-are-unrealistic-illogical-and-self-centered-love-them-anyway/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Recovering in a Calcutta, India hospital. I think I'm more difficult than critical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/recovering-in-a-calcutta-india-hospital-i-think-i-m-more-difficult/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [So many signatures for such a small heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/so-many-signatures-for-such-a-small-heart/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [They should give until it hurts, maybe a very small thing, maybe just a packet of cigarettes, but instead of by smoking that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/they-should-give-until-it-hurts-maybe-a-very-small-thing-maybe-just-a/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-by-forgiving-that-one-is-forgiven/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [The more we empty ourselves, the more room we give God to fill us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-more-we-empty-ourselves-the-more-room-we-give-god-to-fill-us/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/joy-is-prayer-joy-is-strength-joy-is-love-joy-is-a-net-of-love-by/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) [Explore all 951 Mother Teresa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. 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Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. 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That's always easier once you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-brownlee/you-need-to-enjoy-yourself-and-just-get-into-the-routine-of-keeping/) [Alistair Brownlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-brownlee/) [Browse all 2,212 Active quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more active to generate results. In the East-especially in India-I find that people are more content to just be, to just sit around under a banyan tree for half a day chatting to each other. We Westerners would probably call that wasting time. But there is value to it. Being with someone, listening without a clock and without anticipation of results, teaches us about love. 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