“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.”

~ Desmond Tutu ~

as we deepen into decolonizing this moon of bringing to light black history, i share some beautiful words from Archbisop Tutu’s granddaughter,Mungi Ngomane :

“Ubuntu is a way of life from which we can all learn. . . . Originating from a Southern African philosophy, it encompasses all our aspirations about how to live life well, together. We feel it when we connect with other people and share a sense of humanity; when we listen deeply and experience an emotional bond; when we treat ourselves and other people with the dignity they deserve. . . .

I was raised in a community that taught me ubuntu as one of my earliest lessons. My grandfather, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, explained the essence of ubuntu as, ‘My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours.’

In my family, we were brought up to understand that a person who has ubuntu is one whose life is worth emulating. The bedrock of the philosophy is respect, for yourself and for others. So if you’re able to see other people, even strangers,as fully human you will never be able to treat them as disposable or without worth. . . .Ubuntu teaches us to also look outside ourselves to find answers. It’s about seeing the bigger picture; the other side of the story. 

Ubuntu is about reaching out to our fellow men and women, through whom we might just find the comfort, contentment and sense of belonging we crave. Ubuntu tells us that individuals are nothing without other human beings. It encompasses everyone, regardless of race, creed or color. It embraces our differences and celebrates them.”

may we all live ubuntu and be walking invitations of ubuntu… I AM because WE ARE… and, may we affirm our dedication to cosmic stewardship of a world of peace built on justice for all guided by unconditional love for all our relations real-eye-sing there’s only one of us here and we depend on each other to interbe…