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Life is more than breath and a heartbeat; meaning and purpose are the life of life.

Tutu Desmond

Dear Child of God, I am sorry to say that suffering is not optional.
TUTU DESMOND

Children God Sorry Suffer
Our maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one another, and cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other.
TUTU DESMOND

Care Cherish Good Great Love Philosophy
Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.
TUTU DESMOND

Language Philosophy Power Reality
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.
TUTU DESMOND

Alone Connection Deep Forgiveness Healing Hurt Philosophy Relationship Story
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
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
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
We learn from history that we don’t learn from history.
TUTU DESMOND

History Learning Sarcastic
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
Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.
TUTU DESMOND

Argument Improvement One Liner Raise Voice Yourself
Forgiveness is simply about understanding that every one of us is both inherently good and inherently flawed.
TUTU DESMOND

Forgiveness Good Philosophy Understand
In the end generosity is the best way of becoming more, more, and more joyful.
TUTU DESMOND

End Generous Joy
We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.
TUTU DESMOND

Love Philosophy Plant
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
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 DESMOND

Deep Fall People Pull River Stop
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
You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Family God Yourself
Life of wholeness does not depend on what we experience. Wholeness depends on how we experience our lives
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Experience Human Life Live Philosophy Whole
Though wrong gratifies in the moment, good yields its gifts over a lifetime.
TUTU DESMOND

Good Life Moment Wrong
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
We have hardship without becoming hard. We have heartbreaks without being broken.
TUTU DESMOND

Break Hard Heart Broken Philosophy
A person is a person through other persons.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep One Liner Person Philosophy
Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone’s back.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Hurt Religion
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
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
Be nice to whites, they need you to rediscover their humanity.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Discover Humanity Nice Race
The path of joy was connection and the path of sorrow was separation.
TUTU DESMOND

Break Up Connection Joy Path Relationship Separate

Life is more than breath and a heartbeat; meaning and purpose are the life of life.

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Life is more than breath and a heartbeat; meaning and purpose are the life of life.

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