A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.
Interpretation
Ubuntu is a philosophy that emphasizes interconnectedness and compassion among individuals.
The quote by Desmond Tutu describes the concept of 'ubuntu,' which embodies the idea of community, mutual respect, and solidarity. It suggests that true self-assurance comes from recognizing our shared humanity and feeling a sense of belonging to a greater whole, where the well-being of others directly impacts our own well-being. Therefore, harming another diminishes us all, highlighting the importance of empathy and compassion in society.
In practice
During a speech on social justice, I could use this quote to emphasize the importance of community support.
The fossil reserves that have already been discovered exceed what can ever be safely used. Yet companies spend half a trillion dollars each year searching for more fuel. They should redirect this money toward developing clean energy solutions
As much as the world has an instinct for evil and is a breeding ground for genocide, holocaust, slavery, racism, war, oppression, and injustice, the world has an even greateer instinct for goodness, rebirth, mercy, beauty, truth, freedom and love.
When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.
Children are a wonderful gift. They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are.
Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone's back.
Gaza is going to test who believes in the worth of human beings.
Every religion is good—every religion is true to him who in his good caution and conscience believes it.
A lot of people agree that tidying is connected to how we live, and even though, outside of Japan, houses might be bigger, people have more things than they need.
Indeed, the test of orderliness in a country is not the number of millionaires it owns, but the absence of starvation among its masses.
I like imagination -- and the way I think things could be, had been, or should be -- better than reality.
I think I'm learning how to release every day. Recognizing that everything you encounter, touch, or love can become part of you, and in essence never disappears, as long as you can recall it to memory or heart. It's all so connected that we lose everything, but also, we never lose anything.
It is a maxim among these lawyers, that whatever hath been done before, may legally be done again: and therefore they take special care to record all the decisions formerly made against common justice and the general reason of mankind.
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