Ubuntu: I am because we are.

As a “boomer” I was raised in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Before I was born, things like Brown vs the Topeka Board of Education had laid the foundation for desegregation and influenced aspects of the civil rights movement. My formative years were influenced by the world of the 1960’s and ‘70’s. I lived in a “university” town and was fortunate to experience a multicultural “melting pot” of people, ideas and yes, even challenges. During those years, I saw folks like Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr come speak to us on the challenges of the day. Both would be assassinated only months after coming to Manhattan, Ks. Martin came to Manhattan and gave a speech on January 19, 1968. He was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. Bobby came to Manhattan and gave a speech on March 18, 1968. He was assassinated on June 5th, 1968.

On the day that Martin was assassinated I was just shy of being 7 years old. His assassination however remains one of the most poignant memories of my early years. On the day he was killed, I specifically remember running to my mother in tears. Her embracing loving arms enveloping me only as a caring mother could do. As I cried, I remember the only question I posed to her. “Why do people have to kill each other?” She consoled me, and through her own tears merely said, “I don’t know.”

My mother was the bedrock of our family. She grew up on a small farm in Marshall County Kansas. Her father/my grandfather was a simple man, a farmer but also a historian. She was a nurse and was committed to service to others. She embodied the goodness in people and embraced the essence of humanity and kindness in everything she did. She died on March 1st, 1973 when I was 11 years old.  She left an indelible mark and personal legacy that continues to influence who and what I want to be. My mother was a woman who espoused the essence of Ubuntu, before I ever knew the word.

To me my mother like Bobby, Martin and others of that time frame used words to not only express the challenges of the day, but used words to effectively lay the foundation for hope—a brighter tomorrow, and in artfully using words underscored a commitment to the true essence of humanity towards others—despite our differences. They not only talked the talk, but they walked the walk. They were committed to doing the right things because they were the right things to do. They were committed to humanity.

When I graduated from High School, my father gave me the book “I Dare You” by William Danforth. As he handed it to me he merely said, “As you get ready to embark on the next leg of your journey, whichever road you choose, rise above it all and be bigger than you are, leave your footprints where ever you go, and make a difference with your passion for and service to others.” Similar to my mother, he grew up in the small town of Osage City, Kansas. His father/my grandfather was a simple man and a carpenter. My father was an educator, an Elementary School Principal and like my mother was committed to educating our youth and service to others.

I grew up, went to college and then pursued a career. My travels took me to every climb and place around our globe on fleeting excursions to worlds unknown and far different than mine. I found myself in a perpetual state of trying to understand the people, cultures, philosophies and traditions of the places I found myself visiting. One such experience found me on the African continent. Although far removed from the origin of the word, I discovered the word Ubuntu as a result of researching the cultures I would encounter. I did not fully understand or appreciate the history behind it, but I wanted to at least understand its essence before I engaged with the very cultures and people with whom I would interact. Then out of Africa, I continued on my path, traveled to other locations, and the word was placed in my subconscious but never truly forgotten.

After 30 years away, I made the decision to move back to my roots. As part of that transition, I found myself re-looking at Danforth’s book and reliving my conversation with my dad. In doing so it gave me renewed strength for my personal commitment to focus on a pursuit of service to human kind; however small my sphere of influence is or would be. In taking a path less traveled, I endeavored to orient my energy on doing what I could to make a difference for the good of a global world experiencing profound change and daunting challenges. A world in need of fundamental difference making—a world needing the positive influence behind the chaos—a shrinking world needing to remember the humanness lurking around every corner, every issue and every challenge we face.

Comfortably situated back in the Flint Hills, I was recently reminded of the beauty of this word when I saw the picture below and a story of children in a far off land.

When I saw the picture and read the story, I recounted my life’s journey up to now. In taking the time to think about what I understood this words true meaning, I stopped to reflect on and appreciate the true simplicity and essence of a small word and philosophy originated centuries ago in a land far different than mine. I thought about where I had come and where I was headed. I thought about how one word stopped me in my tracks and made me think about a world becoming more interconnected and interdependent. A world that could benefit from the sheer beauty of its simplicity and message of human kindness.

Our world is shrinking and, yes, challenges remain on multiple fronts. Race, religion, ethnicity, culture, gender, orientation and any number of other issues. In light of our interconnectedness, despite our differences, and far removed from where this word originated, I found the simplicity of its message to transcend those differences and reflect the goodness of humanity—a goodness that has endured over time, across culture, and location.

There are some who may ask why write about a single word that originated from a group of people in a land far different than my own? I am writing about it because I think our world and the affinities within it can learn and leverage from its profound and enduring message. My life experiences, personal journey and global travels have merely offered me an opportunity to see, interact with and learn from others around the world. As I have navigated the pathways along my journey, from my youth until now, I have been committed to a path of lifelong learning—attempting, successfully or not, to grow and become a better person from each experience and each encounter.

There have been other cultures, other experiences and yes other words like Ubuntu that at their essence have influenced and shaped my core perspective and belief that despite it all, there is a potential realism that gets to the essence of our collective being.  That in the end human kindness is a good thing indeed.

For other works by Joel Anderson: https://www.bebee.com/@joel-anderson

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the author