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Ubuntu
Ubuntu – I am because you are, you are because I am. – A Deep African Way of Being
We are connected. We are connected. We are connected.
Acceptance of gun proliferation denies connectedness. Rejection of humanitarian practices like asylum and aid denies connectedness. Failing to steward our earth denies connectedness. Banning religions, building walls, targeting cruelty toward others on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, and/or economic position denies connectedness. Yet this is where we are as a world. When I close my eyes and think of moments of profound connectedness, that is ubuntu for me.
Ubuntu means we gather and tell stories.
Our stories connect us. When we know our story and the stories of others, we can see our differences in new light. We learn and grow as the core parts of our stories emerge. We all want to be loved, seen, and understood. We all need compassion and forgiveness. We all seek to belong. Ubuntu is deeper than a “We are more alike than different” idea that can be used to perpetuate a status quo power differential in the name of civility. It is a deep abiding belief in the dignity and worth of every human being. We are one.
Ubuntu means we seek justice and peace.
If we are one, then seeking justice and peace is as vital as the air we breathe and water we drink. Conflicts must be resolved. Truth must be the norm. Inequality must be addressed. Power must be wielded toward the establishment of the good. Ubuntu asks no less than that the least of us, understanding that we are all the least of us, live in a just and peaceful world.
Ubuntu means we create.
Ubuntu is a generous force. It joins. It strengthens. It builds. It generates. It is a creative force. It is the manifestation of the, “Stronger Together” impulse. It understands we truly need one another – from the individual to the social, from the elemental to the universal. Ubuntu teaches us that love expands. There is enough.
https://kitt.global/july-22-ubuntu-mark-nepo-the-book-of-awakening/
About Katie
Born in Louisville. Live in Atlanta. Curious by nature. Researcher by education. Writer by practice. Grateful heart by desire.
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