Desmond Tutu Quotes

When I was a kid, we'd go to the movies, and my parents would reach out to everyone around us in the theater, most of whom could barely afford the movie ticket. They'd hand out popcorn and Milk Duds, strike up conversations with them, lend shoulders to cry on, learn their names, and smile at everyone.

There is a word in South Africa - Ubuntu - that describes his greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that can be invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

The American people have not become heartless.

I think what makes us human - is our interconnectedness among people. It's our ability to form and maintain relationships. It's the barometer by which we call ourselves human.

We have to move from the unbridled pursuit of self-gain at the expense of others to recovering appreciation for what we gain by caring and sharing with one another.

Are we truly being our sisters' keepers? Initially, that dog-eat-dog mentality within us may bark and say that we aren't responsible for other people, but if that was truly the case, then why are we even here? We have so much to offer and give to this world.

People who care about animals tend to care about people. They don't care about animals to the exclusion of people. Caring is not a finite resource and, even more than that, it's like a muscle: the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.

At its core Twitter is about sharing, and I think that in life we never feel better or more energized than when we're giving to someone else.

A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.

Before a game, you know, I can take off my helmet, run over there and spend a few moments with someone who is dealing with so much more than I've ever had to deal with and to love on them and care about them and in front of thousands and thousands of people, you know, let them know that they're more important than all of this.

For example, when my mother died, the people who showed up just to put an apron on to cook, people who really do the right thing, so to speak, as my momma would always say to show that they care, a sense of community that we've lost so much in our country.

Empathy, humanity and support for each other is more important than revenue, than growth.

The tenets of my cultural teachings are rooted in our commitment to lift up every community member so that no one is left behind. Work and food were shared equally. Through our commitment to community, we care about children, even when they aren't ours, and we want our old folks, and yours, to live their last days in dignity and comfort.

I want to be a part of bringing people together and sharing that love.

My parents tended to cook big batch food because there was always the possibility that other children would turn up with their carrier bag and shoes and we had to gently bring them out of their shells.

Fraternity and compassion are written into nature's DNA.

We can all fight against loneliness by engaging in random acts of kindness.

Africans believe in something that is difficult to render in English. We call it ubuntu, botho. It means the essence of being human. You know when it is there and when it is absent. It speaks about humaneness, gentleness, hospitality, putting yourself out on behalf of others, being vulnerable. It embraces compassion and toughness. It recognizes that my humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.

In making dinner for a friend, don't forget the love.

You know when ubuntu is there, and it is obvious when it is absent. It has to do with what it means to be truly human, to know that you are bound up with others in the bundle of life.

At some point the entire population of the earth is gonna have to look back at the kind of essence of spirituality which is basically caring about each other.

When autumn darkness falls, what we will remember are the small acts of kindness: a cake, a hug, an invitation to talk, and every single rose. These are all expressions of a nation coming together and caring about its people.

To help, to continually help and share, that is the sum of all knowledge; that is the meaning of art.

Having felt people's love and support first hand through difficult moments in my life makes me feel it's our responsibility to help one another.