UBUNTU: “I am, because we are.”
President Barack Obama presents a 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Desmond Tutu, widely regarded as ‘South Africa’s moral conscience.’ (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
“Ubuntu” is a concept and way of life, as taught byArchbishop Desmond Tutu ,who dropped his earthly robes, today, Sunday, Dec. 26. We’re experiencing changes large and small. Our lives are being lived in bolder relief. Some of us feel stuck or upside down, while others rise to the occasion of finding ways to meet our own needs and each other’s. I’m pleased to be able to offer support for our wellbeing from the insight out, through my writing, dedicated to freeing up the best in us, allaying anxieties, focusing on what lets the blessings flow.
“Ubuntu:” I learned about it during the early days of this pandemic. It benefits our sense of belonging, connection, basic mental health. I was listening to a taping of a week-long encounter between the Dalai Lama and his inimitable close friend, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It was the occasion of His Holiness’ 80th birthday. They each inspire me, and together, they are utterly delightful! Not only wise, kind, supportive (even where they disagree on some things), but comedic, irreverent, chortling and giggling often during the taping for their project called, The Book Of Joy…
Joy? When the world is topsy turvy?! Absolutely! Especially! And I’m pointing to a new word I learned from Archbishop Tutu, from his native Africa. It’s a Zulu concept, ubuntu. Apparently it’s a bit tricky to translate into English, this philosophy of living that says we could not even be humans without others showing and teaching us how. “I Am, because we Are” invokes a spirit of community in which our inter-relatedness is center stage. Ubuntu values everyone, and welcomes each of us to find and offer our special ways of loving, caring, helping. It honors and cherishes the impulse to dedicate our lives to the common good, to serving the whole, in whatever ways we might discover. Its spirit makes us open and available to one another –present, generous, hospitable.
I was touched by the Archbishop’s belief in the essential goodness at the heart of our species — as did Anna Frank in spite of the Holocaust. I was reminded too about the Bushmen of the Kalahari, how they acknowledge each person they encounter, and again when parting. They inhabit being communal, being tribe. No one is overlooked, no one left out. Each person is allowed and encouraged to gift the whole in his or her unique way. Our world has a way to go to be capable of that spirit…
Have you also wondered what good might come from the world crisis we find ourselves in? As we look to understand, to define for ourselves and each other what is going on… As we wonder what we might do to help… one thing is clearing: we need each other, and we need each other’s best in order to rise like the phoenix.
Sadly, it often it takes a crisis for us to admit we need each other, or feel vulnerable. Conversely, you and I are also potentially strong and resilient, capable of great heart, kindness, generosity and creativity. Capable of slipping into ubuntu. Of letting go and letting Creator take hold of us, and showing us the ways.
Ubuntu extends to all living things. And to wanting “all sentient beings” to be “free from suffering.” Perhaps humankind will expand our awareness of the community of living beings, from the miscroscopic to macro. Experience the Web of Life, as our First Nation peoples teach. True connectedness with the Standing Tall nation (trees), the Rock/Stone people, the Creepy Crawlers, Winged Ones, the Plant People, the Finned Ones, Mother Earth, Father Sky, Grandparents Moon and Sun… The Star nation… In the Lakota or Ojibway language, a common greeting or prayer is the phrase, “Mitakuye Oyasin,” we all are related.
Ubuntu: I would not be human, if not for you. My life and my wellbeing is inextricably bound up in you, in us all. With this awareness comes the likelihood of a more joyful, healthy and meaningful lives.
[Originally published February 2021, Sonoma County Gazette]
