When a person sets about spiritual science, he encounters an inevitable discord. You have to picture this dissension clearly. Many people who come to Anthroposophy are of two kinds. One kind says: I want to help; I want to be a valuable member of the community – and they understand this to mean that the Anthroposophical Movement will give them the means to start doing this tomorrow.
The others may only be under the illusion that they want to help. In reality, they only want to satisfy their curiosity, to experience something sensational. Both groups will not become the right members in the Anthroposophical Society. Those who want to help right away do not consider that one must first learn to help. They must be told: You must have the patience to develop your strengths and abilities, to become a mature helper of your fellow human beings. […]
However, the others, who only want to satisfy their curiosity, must realise that they must regard all the opportunities and skills they received only as the means to become valuable members of the entire human development. […] One must combine both patience and the will to work in oneself.
Source (German): Rudolf Steiner – GA 96 – Ursprungsimpulse der Geisteswissenschaft – Berlijn, October 8, 1906 (page 89-90)
Trranslated by Nesta Carsten-Krüger
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