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.
TUTU DESMONDYou show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others.
More Tutu Desmond Quotes
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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.
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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.
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Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another.
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You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.
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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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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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Forgiveness is simply about understanding that every one of us is both inherently good and inherently flawed.
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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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Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone’s back.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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We have hardship without becoming hard. We have heartbreaks without being broken.
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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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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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