Ubuntu

 "When we want to give high praise to someone we say, “Yhu, u nobuntu”: Hey, so-and-so has ubuntu.”

Then you are generous, you are friendly and caring and compassionate"
Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human.
Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation.
It speaks about our interconnectedness
You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality –
Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity.
We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another,
whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World.
When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu

A common story illustrating Ubuntu
An anthropologist showed a game to the children of an African tribe ...He placed a basket of delicious fruits near a tree trunk and told them: The first child to reach the tree will get the basket. When he gave them the start signal, he was surprised that they were walking together, holding hands until they reached the tree and shared the fruit! When he asked them why you did that when every one of you could get the basket only for him!

They answered with astonishment: 'Ubuntu.'
"That is, how can one of us be happy while the rest are miserable?" Ubuntu in their civilization means: (I am because we are). That tribe knows the secret of happiness that has been lost in all societies that transcend them and which consider themselves civilized societies ...!!

“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river.
We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”
Desmond Tutu

Cheers
Jeanne

Feb 24th Quote