Desmond Tutu
- Country : South Africa
- Profession :Prominent anti-apartheid activist
- DOB: 1931-10-07
Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and prominent anti-apartheid activist. Ordained as a priest in 1960, he used his position to vehemently oppose apartheid, advocating non-violence and reconciliation. He became the first black Dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg. Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his nonviolent struggle against apartheid. Post-apartheid, he served as Archbishop of Cape Town and chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. His legacy is one of moral leadership, compassion, and tireless dedication to social justice. Tutu passed away on December 26, 2021, leaving an enduring legacy worldwide.
Inclusive, good-quality education is a foundation for dynamic and equitable societies.
Author: Desmond TutuGood sense does not always lie with the loudest shouters, nor can we say that a large, unruly crowd is always the best arbiter of what is right
Author: Desmond TutuForgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering–remembering and not using your right to hit back. It’s a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you don’t want to repeat what happened.
Author: Desmond TutuOne of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can’t be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.
Author: Desmond TutuThe final and full revelation of God is not a book, it is a person. Jesus Christ.
Author: Desmond TutuWho can stop climate change? We can. You and you and you, and me. And it is not just that we can stop it, we have a responsibility to do so that began in the genesis of humanity when God commanded the earliest human inhabitants of the Garden of Eden, “to till it and keep it”. To “keep” it; not to abuse it, not to make as much money as possible from it, not to destroy it.
Author: Desmond TutuThe world’s forests are a shared stolen treasure that we must put back for our children’s future.
Author: Desmond TutuI will never tell anyone to pick up a gun. But I will pray for the man who picks up a gun, pray that he will be less cruel than he might otherwise have been.
Author: Desmond TutuToo frequently we think we have to do spectacular things. Yet if we remember that the sea is actually made up of drops of water and each drop counts, each one of us can do our little bit where we are. Those little bits can come together and almost overwhelm the world. Each one of us can be an oasis of peace.
Author: Desmond TutuThe moment our dignity is undermined, we get up in arms and want to see our dignity restored – especially if we are humiliated.
Author: Desmond TutuDespite all of the ghastliness in the world, human beings are made for goodness. The ones that are held in high regard are not militarily powerful, nor even economically prosperous. They have a commitment to try and make the world a better place.
Author: Desmond TutuEach of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God’s hands. And God says there are no outsiders – black, white, yellow, short, tall, young, old, rich, poor, gay, lesbian, straight – everyone. All belong. And God says, I have only you to help me realize my dream. Help me.
Author: Desmond TutuThe world is awful but also the world is beautiful. Human beings are awful, but ultimately human beings are tremendous.
Author: Desmond TutuA life of wholeness does not depend on what we experience. Wholeness depends on how we experience our lives.
Author: Desmond TutuWe must not only speak about forgiveness and reconciliation, we must act on these principles.
Author: Desmond TutuYou and I are created for transcendence, laughter, caring. God deliberately did not make the world perfect, for God is looking for you and me to be fellow workers with God.
Author: Desmond TutuTrue reconciliation is never cheap, for it is based on forgiveness which is costly. Forgiveness in turn depends on repentance, which has to be based on an acknowledgment of what was done wrong, and therefore on disclosure of the truth. You cannot forgive what you do not know.
Author: Desmond TutuWe must embrace our differences, even celebrate our diversity. We must glory in the fact that God created each of us as unique human beings. God created us differently, but God did not create us for separation. God created us differently that we might recognize our need for one another. We must reverence our uniqueness, reverence everything that makes us what we are: our language, our culture, our religious tradition.
Author: Desmond TutuNever let anyone make you feel inferior for being who you are. When you live the life you were meant to live, in freedom and dignity.
Author: Desmond TutuThere are things that must evoke our anger to show we care. It is what we do with that anger. If we direct that energy we can use it positively or destructively.
Author: Desmond TutuArrogance really comes from insecurity, and in the end, our feeling that we are bigger than others is really the flip side of our feeling that we are smaller than others.
Author: Desmond TutuThere is room for everyone; there is room for every culture, race, language, and point of view.
Author: Desmond TutuMaking the truth public is a form of justice. This is a moral universe and you’ve got to take account of the fact that truth and lies and goodness and evil are things that matter.
Author: Desmond TutuOne of the greatest gifts we can give to another generation is our experience, our wisdom.
Author: Desmond TutuAnd you remember the rainbow in the Bible is the sign of peace. The rainbow is the sign of prosperity. We want peace, prosperity, and justice and we can have it when all the people of God, the rainbow people of God, work together.
Author: Desmond TutuHave you seen a symphony orchestra? There is a person at the back carrying a triangle. Now and again the conductor will point to him or her and that person will play “ting.” That might seem so insignificant, but in the conception of the composer something irreplaceable would be lost to the total beauty of the symphony if that “ting” did not happen.
Author: Desmond TutuEaster says to us that despite everything to the contrary, his will for us will prevail, love will prevail over hate, justice over injustice and oppression, peace overexploitation and bitterness.
Author: Desmond TutuThe future of our fragile, beautiful planet home is in our hands. As God’s family, we are stewards of God’s creation. We can be wantonly irresponsible, or we can be caring and compassionate. God says, “I have set before you life and death… Choose life.
Author: Desmond TutuLaugh more. Don’t forget to enjoy the blessings that God bestows on this beautiful planet.
Author: Desmond TutuThere is no situation that is not transformable. There is no person who is hopeless. There is no set of circumstances that cannot be turned about by ordinary human beings and their natural capacity for love of the deepest sort.
Author: Desmond TutuLike humility, generosity comes from seeing that everything we have and everything we accomplish comes from God’s grace and God’s love for us… Certainly, it is from experiencing this generosity of God and the generosity of those in our life that we learn gratitude and to be generous to others.
Author: Desmond TutuIn order to turn around and do something better, we must first escape the vicious circle of self-righteousness and denial. And that calls for the humility to say “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
Author: Desmond TutuNuclear abolition is the democratic wish of the world’s people and has been our goal almost since the dawn of the atomic age. Together, we have the power to decide whether the nuclear era ends in a bang or worldwide celebration.
Author: Desmond TutuDream of a world where children can laugh and play and not be blown up by a mine they thought was a toy.
Author: Desmond TutuA person who is assured of the love of God will see his fellow men in a different light and treat them and himself differently, and of course this also applies to business leaders.
Author: Desmond TutuOur Lord wanted us to be Christ-like. Christ-like doesn’t mean not having faults. It means that you do actually have a capacity to draw out the good that is in others.
Author: Desmond TutuTrust is one of the fundamentals of human existence. We need to be able to trust one another. A man who can no longer trust anyone will become sick.
Author: Desmond TutuAn abusive relationship should be easy to identify though often one of the most difficult to end.
Author: Desmond TutuLife is funny and we are really funny, especially when we get to be hoity-toity; we can be so ridiculous. Life is fun.
Author: Desmond TutuWe are always at our best when compassion enables us to recognize the unique pressures and singular stories of the people on the other side of our conflicts.
Author: Desmond TutuChildren learn about the nature of the world from their family. They learn about power and about justice, about peace, and about compassion within the family. Whether we oppress or liberate our children in our relationships with them will determine whether they grow up to oppress and be oppressed or to liberate and be liberated.
Author: Desmond TutuI think it is a good exercise to ask oneself, “How would I have wanted to be treated.
Author: Desmond TutuGod is not upset that Gandhi was not a Christian, because God is not a Christian! All of God’s children and their different faiths help us to realize the immensity of God.
Author: Desmond TutuI am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.
Author: Desmond TutuWe can carry the burden of hurt throughout our lives. We can make the hurt that we have experienced the defining aspect of our stories of ourselves. That means that somebody else gets to say who we are, somebody else gets to decide how we feel, and somebody else gets to decide how we see the world. Forgiveness not only frees us from the burden of someone else’s opinion of us, but it allows us the opportunity to really write a story of ourselves that we can love, enjoy, relish, and live into.
Author: Desmond TutuOur maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one another, and cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other.
Author: Desmond TutuTo treat anyone as if they were less than human, less than a brother or a sister, no matter what they have done, is to contravene the very laws of our humanity.
Author: Desmond TutuWe are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.
Author: Desmond TutuOrder to truly forgive oneself, one must either explicitly or implicitly acknowledge that one’s behavior was wrong and accept responsibility or blame for such behavior.
Author: Desmond TutuIt is true that when we harm others, we harm ourselves; but it is just as true that when we help others, we also help ourselves.
Author: Desmond TutuWe must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God.
Author: Desmond TutuAll of us experience fear, but when we confront and acknowledge it, we are able to turn it into courage. Being courageous does not mean never being scared; it means acting as you know you must even though you are undeniably afraid.
Author: Desmond TutuHealing means that our dignity is restored and we are able to move forward in our lives.
Author: Desmond TutuReligion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread or stick in someone’s back.
Author: Desmond TutuIt is our moral obligation to give every child the very best education possible.
Author: Desmond TutuWhen we see the face of a child, we think of the future. We think of their dreams about what they might become, and what they might accomplish
Author: Desmond TutuIf we could but recognize our common humanity, that we do belong together, that our destinies are bound up in one another’s, that we can be free only together, that we can be human only together, then a glorious world would come into being where all of us lived harmoniously together as members of one family, the human family.
Author: Desmond TutuLike when you sit in front of a fire in winter — you are just there in front of the fire. You don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.
Author: Desmond TutuGod’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.
Author: Desmond TutuGod’s love is too great to be confined to any one side of a conflict or to any one religion.
Author: Desmond TutuHow could you have a soccer team if all were goalkeepers? How would it be an orchestra if all were French horns?
Author: Desmond TutuWe have a planet that is at risk, where resources don’t have permanent life. We are going to have to make the decision: are we going to survive or are we waiting for our extinction? One day we will wake up and find people are fighting not for oil but water.
Author: Desmond TutuUniversal education is not only a moral imperative but an economic necessity, to pave the way toward making many more nations self-sufficient and self-sustaining.
Author: Desmond TutuGive young people a greater voice. They are the future and they are much wiser than we give them credit for.
Author: Desmond TutuForgiveness is nothing less than the way we heal the world. We heal the world by healing each and every one of our hearts. The process is simple, but it is not easy.
Author: Desmond TutuIn our own ways, we are all broken. Out of that brokenness, we hurt others. Forgiveness is the journey we take toward healing the broken parts. It is how we become whole again.
Author: Desmond TutuThe quality of human life on our planet is nothing more than the sum total of our daily interactions with one another. Each time we help, and each time we harm, we have a dramatic impact on our world.
Author: Desmond TutuGive a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.
Author: Desmond TutuLove is universal. You don’t have to tell somebody that loving is better than hating. You don’t have to believe in God to know that stealing is bad. All of God’s children and their different faiths help to realize the immensity of God. No faith contains the whole truth about God. And certainly, Christians don’t have a corner on God. All of us belong to God.
Author: Desmond Tutu