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Ubuntu finds me - again

So far I have stumbled, read, and been found by the word "ubuntu" four times in the last couple of months. If you've been following my blog lately, you'll remember the other references, but for the sake of keeping count here's the full list.

1. Ubuntu is referenced in Krista Tippet's book, 'Speaking of faith' as the true definition of humanity. It's a wonderful long short book that the book club I attend picked up in September and are just about to finish now. As you can guess, the long-six-chapters-in-240-pages are full of wonderful ideas discussing "Why religion matters - and how to think about it.".

2. When reading 'I'm proud of you', by Tim Madigan, I was taken aback in the very first chapter as Mr. Fred Rogers describing Ubuntu as the existence of true humanity as me with you. In his point of view, we can only be made complete in our interaction and working along side of others.

3. While walking out of my office last week, I looked on one of the many book shelves and saw the book, 'There is no future without forgiveness' by Desmond Tutu. Having learned a few things about ubuntu in relation to the restoration of South Africa after the impact and recovery from apartheid - I turned to the index of the book to find several references to ubuntu were listed. I immediately put in next on the que in my pile of, Books that I need to read pronto!



4. Today, when preparing for my high school group I was rooting around the youth room for some ambient music to play during a reading I was going to use and found the CD case pictured above. The CD is titled, "Ubuntu: I am because we are. This CD was produced in 2003 as to promote and teach music for and ELCA youth gathering. Then I remembered my pastor telling me how he heard Desmond Tutu speak at the conference. Wow!

In the two months I've been working with the ELCA I've come in contact with this word four times now. Each succeeding time I reply, "I'm listening!". Maybe the word is chasing me in order to let me know more every day, I am because we are. We are family, we are community, we are together. We are, hopefully, living out ubuntu. Ubuntu, keep on chasing me. I need you too.

Comments

Mel said…
Any comment that I might have had was erased when the word verification popped up as 'defect'.

.....no foolin'......

k.....I'm listening!!!!!
Anonymous said…
yes!!! As I mentioned to you on Facebook I love the concept of ubuntu! That I belong to a greater whole and that when others are diminished, I am diminshed; when others are uplifted, I am uplifted. "A person is a person through other persons". I also love the phrase "I am because we are"!

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