Practice UBUNTU

Contributed by: Ginger Rothhaas, Compassion Fix

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Ubuntu (pronounced ooh-bun-too) is an African philosophy that captures our common humanity and shared human experiences; it highlights our interconnectedness. As this idea has spread throughout humanity, ubuntu teachings have been translated in a number of ways, such as:

• I am because you are.

• We are bound together beyond what we can see.

• I grow because you grow.

• One finger cannot pick up a grain.

• A person is a person through other people.

  
  

I first discovered the concept of ubuntu in seminary while studying African indigenous religions and quickly fell in love with the wisdom it offers. The more I thought about ubuntu, the more it helped to shape me into a compassionate person.

At its most basic, ubuntu promotes human kindness—the concept that we need to cooperate with fellow humans in order to survive. Ubuntu reinforces that the whole village thrives when we teach, protect, care, feed, heal, and help one another.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu once wrote:

"You might have much of the world's riches, and you might hold a portion of authority, but if you have no ubuntu, you do not amount to much. Ubuntu is what it means to be truly human, to know that you are bound up with others in the bundle of life." (Archbishop Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time (New York: Double day, 2003).

Where can you and I work to make ubuntu the guiding action in our lives? What happens if we apply more ubuntu thinking throughout our days? Maybe it means we release a competitive spirit, a scarcity mentality, or our tendency toward self-centeredness. Maybe it means we don't need to win, get ahead, or do more than someone else. Maybe it means we don’t need to be right. We focus instead on being kind.

As a global community in the 21st century, we have the opportunity to come together—to spread human kindness, to care for one another, and to show respect for all living things. If we lead with ubuntu, we can all thrive and contribute to the change we long to see in the world.

TRY THESE to PRACTICE UBUNTU:

1. Consider the list of often-marginalized groups below (this list is not meant to be comprehensive). Choose a group of people you would like to learn more about. Is there a group you relate to the most? Is there a group whose struggle has always been a cause of concern for you? Notice if one of these groups makes you feel un- comfortable; maybe that is a group to consider learning more about.

• Immigrants, refugees, and migrants

• Women and girls

• Victims of human trafficking

• Those battling mental illness

• Children and youth

• The LGBTQ+ community

• People of differing religions

• The developmentally delayed

• The physically disabled

• The incarcerated (and their loved ones)

• People released from incarceration

• People of low socioeconomic status

• The unemployed

• People without housing

• The aging population

• People of a particular ethnicity/country of origin

  
  

1. Find ways to educate yourself on the current issues facing this group of people. Read a book about them, or explore other ways you could learn more from trusted sources. Seek out the stories of individual people as much as possible and aim for a better understanding of what it is like to be them.

   
   

2. Consider contributing your time, resources, and love to this group of people. Search for agencies that support this group of people. Two good places to start are volunteermatch.org and charitynavigator.org.

   
   

3. In your social circles, share what you are learning. You may find that people in your circles want to learn more, too.

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Ginger Rothhaas, MBA, MDiv. is a seminary trained compassion coach who teaches about compassion at the intersection of neuroscience and spirituality. She is the founder of Compassion Fix Coaching, and she has written a book of mental health practices titled Being Human: 150 Practices to Make it Easier. She lives in Kansas City with her husband, their two teenage children, and two very enthusiastic dogs.

You can find Ginger at:

Websites: gingerrothhaas.com, compassionfix.com

Facebook and Instagram: @gingerrothhaas and @compassionfix

New Book: Being Human