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I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t.

Tutu Desmond

Dear Child of God, I write these words because we all experience sadness, we all come at times to despair, and we all lose hope that the suffering in our lives and in the world will ever end.
TUTU DESMOND

End Experience God Hope Live Lose Sad Suffer Time Word World Writing
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.
TUTU DESMOND

Enemy Hate Humanity Oppression Recognize Risk
Forgiveness does not relieve someone of responsibility for what they have done. Forgiveness does not erase accountability. It is not about turning a blind eye or even turning the other cheek.
TUTU DESMOND

Accountable Eyes Forgiveness Philosophy Responsibility
Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.
TUTU DESMOND

Language Philosophy Power Reality
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.
TUTU DESMOND

Believe End Fail God Good Himself Love Philosophy Spiritual
Like when you sit in front of a fire in winter — you are just there in front of the fire. You don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.
TUTU DESMOND

Fire Smart Warm Winter Yourself
Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
TUTU DESMOND

Good Philosophy Togetherness World Yourself
A very important but difficult piece of renewing relationships is accepting responsibility for our part in any conflict.
TUTU DESMOND

Acceptance Difficult Relationship
To protect our children, we must talk to them about rape.
TUTU DESMOND

Children Protect Sex Violence
Forgiveness is truly the grace by which we enable another person to get up, and get up with dignity, to begin anew.
TUTU DESMOND

Beginning Forgiveness Grace Person Philosophy True
There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Difficult Wake Up
I do believe there are monstrous and evil acts, but I do not believe those who commit such acts are monsters or evil.
TUTU DESMOND

Act Believe Commitment Deep Evil Philosophy
Discovering more joy does not, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak.
TUTU DESMOND

Discover Hard Heart Broken Joy Philosophy Save
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.
TUTU DESMOND

Animal Appreciation Justice Oppression Philosophy Situation Yourself
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.
TUTU DESMOND

Beautiful Human Truth World
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.
TUTU DESMOND

Break Healing Hurt Repair Responsibility Togetherness
Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another.
TUTU DESMOND

Different Philosophy Togetherness
It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.
TUTU DESMOND

Compassion Deep Discover Empathy God Philosophy Soul Vulnerable Weak
God is transforming the world now–through us–because God loves us.
TUTU DESMOND

God Philosophy Religious Transform World
We learn from history that we don’t learn from history.
TUTU DESMOND

History Learning Sarcastic
In the end generosity is the best way of becoming more, more, and more joyful.
TUTU DESMOND

End Generous Joy
Be nice to whites, they need you to rediscover their humanity.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Discover Humanity Nice Race
Life is more than breath and a heartbeat; meaning and purpose are the life of life.
TUTU DESMOND

Heart Life Philosophy Purpose
If you want to keep people subjugated, the last thing you place in their hands is a Bible. There’s nothing more radical, nothing more revolutionary, nothing more subversive against injustice and oppression than the Bible.
TUTU DESMOND

Justice Oppression People Philosophy Religious Revolution Spiritual
When we see others as separate, they become a threat. When we see others as part of us, as connected, as interdependent, then there is no challenge we cannot face—together.
TUTU DESMOND

Challenge Connection Philosophy Separate Togetherness Unity
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.
TUTU DESMOND

Alone God Learning Philosophy Spiritual Truth
Out 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.
TUTU DESMOND

Art Human Life Philosophy Suffer

I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t.

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I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t.

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