Remembering Desmond Tutu

A little over 20 years ago I got to meet Desmond Tutu. He was teaching for the year at Emory and I was touring the school and was fortunate to sit in on a class he taught. I honestly don’t remember anything Desmond Tutu said, but I do remember his energy. He lit up with a light that radiated like a Christmas tree. I went up after the class to thank him for the lecture, and he shook my hand and gave me the one of the brightest and most contagious smiles. It is not surprising he later penned the Book of Joy with the Dalai Lama, because my impression of this Anglican bishop was that he was a man filled with joy.

SInce meeting Desmond Tutu, I have read several of his books and I have been particularly struck by his philosophy of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu is an African term that is often translated as, “I am because we are.” The Western world prefers the philosopher Descartes’ words, “I think therefore I am.” Desmond Tutu once said this about Ubuntu:

When we want to give high praise to someone we say, ‘Yu, u nobunto’; ‘Hey so-and-so has ubuntu.’ Then you are generous, you are hospitable, you are friendly and caring and compassionate. You share what you have. It is to say, ‘My humanity is inextricably bound up in yours.’ We belong in a bundle of life.”

This idea of ubuntu is important, because it highlights how much we value right thinking over community in the West. Right now this rigidity in thinking shows up in how divided we are politically. This polarization is causing us to be more reactive to one another than I have seen in my adult life.

I am a 2 on the Enneagram, but I have a 1 wing and so I can sometimes get caught up in thinking my way is the right way. But there is no joy and life in being right. I am learning daily that thinking we hold truth in our hands is very dangerous. This way of thinking leads to tribalism and division, instead of the reminder that my well being is tied to my neighbor’s well-being.

Desmond Tutu sadly died on December 26, but I am so grateful for the way he exuded light and joy. I want to light up on the inside like he did and I know the only pathway towards this joy is staying open-hearted and remembering we belong to one another.

We belong to one another,

Christy