Ubuntu

I have come across an African word several times now in my readings. The word is ubuntu. But really, it is more than a word, it's a concept, a way of life, a philosophy. It has been translated as "A person is a person because of people." It's this idea that we are all connected, that none of us could survive without each other.

I'm reading Archbishop Desmond Tutu's book No Future Without Forgiveness that chronicles his experience as the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission established by President Nelson Mandela after apartheid fell in South Africa. Mandela and Tutu are amazing men and leaders that helped a nation heal after decades of horrific atrocities. They both lived this idea of ubuntu. 

In the book Tutu says, "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."

Elsewhere, Tutu further explains the idea by saying, "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."

We should all be living this! The idea of individualism has continued to grow in the West without anything to balance it's weight, and now it's just dragging us down. We are individuals and I value the unique qualities and potential everyone has, but that's not all there is. We are part of a larger community, beyond our family, our neighborhood, our state, our nationality, we are each an important part of the global community. Tutu talks about "the essence of being human." This essence, whatever you define it as, connects us to every other person on the planet. This is nothing new, I'm aware, but what I think is new, or at least lesser realized, is that this idea should effect the way we live on a daily basis. 

Tutu talks about how when something happens to another human, no matter where they are, it affects us. It diminishes our humanness when another human is dehumanized, and alternately, when we do something good, it affects all of humanity because we are living out of our essence, our true humanness. 

But we are born into and continue to develop lifestyles that insulate us from this idea. We are individuals to the detriment of the rest of humanity when we make daily decisions that adversely effect other people. Just because we can't see these people, don't know who they are and may never be confronted with the negative culmination of our actions, doesn't make it ok. 

Nelson Mandela said, "Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to improve?"

Or are you going to enrich yourself at the expense of the community around you?

(Photo)