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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.

Tutu Desmond

You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Family God Yourself
Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.
TUTU DESMOND

Language Philosophy Power Reality
Though wrong gratifies in the moment, good yields its gifts over a lifetime.
TUTU DESMOND

Good Life Moment Wrong
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
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.
TUTU DESMOND

Eyes Land Oppression Religion War
A very important but difficult piece of renewing relationships is accepting responsibility for our part in any conflict.
TUTU DESMOND

Acceptance Difficult Relationship
We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.
TUTU DESMOND

Love Philosophy Plant
A person is a person through other persons; you can’t be human in isolation; you are human only in relationships.
TUTU DESMOND

Alone Human Person Relationship
Forgiveness is simply about understanding that every one of us is both inherently good and inherently flawed.
TUTU DESMOND

Forgiveness Good Philosophy Understand
You show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others.
TUTU DESMOND

Connection Humanity Philosophy Yourself
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 learn from history that we don’t learn from history.
TUTU DESMOND

History Learning Sarcastic
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
Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone’s back.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Hurt Religion
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

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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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Tutu Desmond Quotes