Ubuntu

Hello and welcome back dear readers to my Blog. I hope your week was peaceful & calm, especially after reading my last post. If you haven't, then head to this link for a quick read through it - The Blue Sky is always there .
Alright then. For this week I want to talk about something we all know about ourselves. Its what makes us Human - Our Humanity (isn't it ?). The compassion, love, generosity, respect, understanding, benevolence, tenderness & kindness, we as humans, have for each other, is what basically makes us who we all are as a community, a society.


But in these fast-paced & hyper-competitive times, perhaps we have lost touch with our Humanity. Bring to your mind a situation for example, a friend or colleague is chosen for a particular assignment over you. Or maybe, someone you know has achieved something in their lives which is also your goal, a job, family, new home or maybe a car. You may smile & offer them congratulatory wishes via a phone call (🙅 note-texting is very impersonal !!) or maybe visit them or send them a bouquet of gorgeous flowers (ooh fancy 🌷). But deep down in your heart, how do you actually feel ? Is your smile genuine, or just a facade to cover your disappointment or jealousy ? Do you then feel, that maybe you deserved whatever this other person  has gained, and it somehow feels as your loss ? Well, you are not alone. We all feel like that sometime during our lives. But, have you ever stopped to think, why is it that we feel this way, happy yet a little sad at someone else's achievements ? Cant we be happy for them, just happy ?


There was a time, when we were innocent children, before all this competitive attitude was conditionally pumped into our systems. When our friends won, we were happy, even if it meant we lost.  Remember all the comparisons that were made toward your classmates & how they were better than you, engraving deep in you that innate need to prove something always, even now ? A child is pure, unadulterated living being. Us adults, on the other hand, are complex creatures of habit. But humanity is still inside all of us. Its just a matter of choice, to let it bloom, like when we were kids, or to let it shrivel up & die.


Ubuntu is one such philosophy (besides the computer operating system). Ubuntu is a Nguni (southern Africa) word meaning "Humanity". It is translated as " I am what I am, because we all are". Ubuntu teaches us about the universal bond of sharing, that connects all of Humanity". We can also say, it is the essence of a Human Being.
I first heard this word during a meditation session in the Calm app & it instantly resonated with me (they have a lovely short story to explain it better). I may not have achieved what some of my friends & acquaintances might have, but that does not mean my life has any less meaning than theirs. Their achievements are theirs only, not mine, so it should be about them, if I'm not wrong (not everything is about "Me"). I should be, and am, happy for them, for they have reaped the benefits of what they had sown. I've begun to feel happy, just genuinely happy after a long time, for the success & joy of others (besides my family). And in return, it brings me joy as well.


We are just human, and feeling sad or jealous is one of our many emotions. Perhaps we can try to be happy, collectively as a society, so that everyone can benefit from it. As you might already know, human beings are social creatures, thriving in colonies, rather than in solitude.
So for this week, give Ubuntu a try, and see how you feel. Be happy for the achievements of others & let them  know about it, do something compassionately humane, gather your team/group & work with each others strengths & weaknesses. Grow collectively as a whole rather than one. Ubuntu or humanity is within all of us. Being Human is already a given, but keeping our Humanity is a Choice.


Here's wishing you all joyous & beautiful week ahead, my readers. Until next time.

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