today i connected with humanity and felt a shared bond with this whole universe i am a part of.
well, yesterday was also part of this connection i felt. actually it is a sentiment that started early yesterday and then continued to grow and has stabilized and is still running into today. i am feeling quite present and generally happy. also, i am feeling much compassion for humans in general and i am finding new and creative ways to avoid afflictive emotions that will cause friction in my relationships. i have been more successful at applying Right Effort and at bringing myself back to the present moment. and my meditations have now been lasting on average 30 minutes and have been quite focused and stable.
ubuntu is a philosophy of humanity of african origins. this is Nelson Mandela’s explanation of the term:
“A traveller through a country would stop at a village and he didn’t have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not address themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?”
and this philosophy has been growing and strengthening inside of me for the past two days. i have been contemplating the beauty of its message and the utopian dream it provokes which has led me to resolve that i will live my life by these ideals and set an example for others that it may be one step closer to reality. they say that every grain of rice makes a difference. one by one the humans of this planet shall be enlightened, and minuscule step by minuscule step shall we advance to this so-called “omega point.”
ubuntu is also sharing. that is why the popular linux distribution goes by the same name (it is free). i have been using ubuntu for six months now but yesterday as i was turning my computer on, i saw the ubunto logo and quickly snapped a photo of it. it had touched me. a circle made from the interlinked hands of three people. working together. sharing our common humanity. loving one another. tolerating, caring, helping, understanding, teaching, learning, loving, and the list goes on. all this and more from the sight of a small logo. my virtue has been invigorated, and by no more virtuous a figure than Nelson Mandela himself. step by step and together must we ripen the fruit of our humanity.
“What is the appropriate behavior for a man or a woman in the midst of this world, where each person is clinging to his piece of debris? What’s the proper salutation between people as they pass each other in this flood?”
– Buddha