Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.
TUTU DESMONDIf 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.
More Tutu Desmond Quotes
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Much depends on your attitude. If you are filled with negative judgment and anger, then you will feel separate from other people. You will feel lonely.
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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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God is transforming the world now–through us–because God loves us.
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There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream to find out why they’re falling in.
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There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep.
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Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
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We must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God.
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I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t.
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We are not responsible for what breaks us, but we can be responsible for what puts us back together again. Naming the hurt is how we begin to repair our broken parts.
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It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.
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We learn from history that we don’t learn from history.
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Forgiveness is truly the grace by which we enable another person to get up, and get up with dignity, to begin anew.
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Discovering more joy does not, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak.
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Forgiving is not forgetting; its actually remembering–remembering and not using your right to hit back. Its a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you dont want to repeat what happened.
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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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