Ubuntu = "A universal truth, a way of life that underpins the concept of an open society" It does not mean that one should not address themselves, but that they must do so in order to enable the community around you to improve.
The concept of Ubuntu is very difficult for the westernized mind as it is just too dirty and spoiled with the intoxicating ideas of the omnipotence of the individual identity. I respect the spirit of Ubuntu for the connectedness of us all.
I was still exploring this area within me and while watching Mandela’s short explanation of what the Ubuntu in life is (you can see it on 'Wikipedia Ubuntu Philosophy), and it finally dawned on me.
It was the 'deserve-oriented', language that creates a gap, the canyon between the spirit of Ubuntu and my little self. This discourse, always operating with the idea that I have to deserve to be accepted, appreciated, loved, respected…, this cultural context of there being some universal rules I need to (and will always fail to) follow in order to deserve my needs to be met within a group of people.
This paradigm was dominates my society and most of my socializations throughout my life. And I fear that I somehow have internalized it into the very fundamentals of my own being and my beingness. Do I deserve to be accepted? Do I deserve to be a part of this beauty? Have I complied with all the requirement to be let in?
I see this 'deserve-oriented' language of conditioning as one of the most fundamental failures of the humanity. It results in being conditioned and conditioning others. If you do this and that then you may qualify to deserve my love. If you comply with this and that, then you may deserve to be let in. Distinctions. Hierarchy. Levels of importance. Inner and outer circles. Social climbing. Competing. Building up as much power over others as possible…
What I am trying to say here is that I feel, somewhere very deep and barely tangible within me, that the Ubuntu starts within us, with our perception of ourselves, our own worth and our own needs. And with the realization that it is not at all about deserving or not deserving. This language and these notions are completely irrelevant and meaningless.
Ubuntu, as I see it, is a complete absence of evaluation and deserve oriented perception of self and others. We do not have to deserve to be accepted, to be part of it all, to be taken care of. And the same is true for everybody else. Because we can not, actually be separated, be not-connected. We are connected, ultimately and universally. We can not be if others are not. We are because others are. We are because we all are.
The only choice we have is to choose to continue denying it all or to choose to cease denying and embrace it fully.
The concept of Ubuntu is very difficult for the westernized mind as it is just too dirty and spoiled with the intoxicating ideas of the omnipotence of the individual identity. I respect the spirit of Ubuntu for the connectedness of us all.
I was still exploring this area within me and while watching Mandela’s short explanation of what the Ubuntu in life is (you can see it on 'Wikipedia Ubuntu Philosophy), and it finally dawned on me.
It was the 'deserve-oriented', language that creates a gap, the canyon between the spirit of Ubuntu and my little self. This discourse, always operating with the idea that I have to deserve to be accepted, appreciated, loved, respected…, this cultural context of there being some universal rules I need to (and will always fail to) follow in order to deserve my needs to be met within a group of people.
This paradigm was dominates my society and most of my socializations throughout my life. And I fear that I somehow have internalized it into the very fundamentals of my own being and my beingness. Do I deserve to be accepted? Do I deserve to be a part of this beauty? Have I complied with all the requirement to be let in?
I see this 'deserve-oriented' language of conditioning as one of the most fundamental failures of the humanity. It results in being conditioned and conditioning others. If you do this and that then you may qualify to deserve my love. If you comply with this and that, then you may deserve to be let in. Distinctions. Hierarchy. Levels of importance. Inner and outer circles. Social climbing. Competing. Building up as much power over others as possible…
What I am trying to say here is that I feel, somewhere very deep and barely tangible within me, that the Ubuntu starts within us, with our perception of ourselves, our own worth and our own needs. And with the realization that it is not at all about deserving or not deserving. This language and these notions are completely irrelevant and meaningless.
Ubuntu, as I see it, is a complete absence of evaluation and deserve oriented perception of self and others. We do not have to deserve to be accepted, to be part of it all, to be taken care of. And the same is true for everybody else. Because we can not, actually be separated, be not-connected. We are connected, ultimately and universally. We can not be if others are not. We are because others are. We are because we all are.
The only choice we have is to choose to continue denying it all or to choose to cease denying and embrace it fully.
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