Dear Child of God, I am sorry to say that suffering is not optional.
TUTU DESMONDOut of the cacophony of random suffering and chaos that can mark human life, the life artist sees or creates a symphony of meaning and order.
More Tutu Desmond Quotes
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You show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others.
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A person is a person through other persons; you can’t be human in isolation; you are human only in relationships.
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If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.
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Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.
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Be nice to whites, they need you to rediscover their humanity.
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We are fragile creatures, and it is from this weakness, not despite it, that we discover the possibility of true joy.
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We do not heal in isolation. When we reach out and connect with one another—when we tell the story, name the hurt, grant forgiveness, and renew or release the relationship—our suffering begins to transform.
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When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.
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In the end what matters is not how good we are but how good God is. Not how much we love Him but how much He loves us. And God loves us whoever we are, whatever we’ve done or failed to do, whatever we believe or can’t.
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Though wrong gratifies in the moment, good yields its gifts over a lifetime.
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When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.
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Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.
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If you are setting out to be joyful you are not going to end up being joyful. You’re going to find yourself turned in on yourself. It’s like a flower. You open, you blossom, really because of other people.
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Human beings are actually created for the transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the truthful, and all of us are given the task of trying to make this world a little more hospitable to these beautiful things.
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We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.
TUTU DESMOND






