Page 217 - A People Called Afrika

Ubuntu

Think about how many times you may have held the door open
for others who are walking just behind you or times when you
have climbed up an escalator pushing past those in the queue.
Or how many times you may have seen a child in your neigh-
borhood doing what is not right and then you either corrected
him or reported him to his parents for appropriate discipline.

Our responses in these situations easily point to the
lies we have been told that we should live without pay-
ing attention to others. Unaware that this actually births
a culture that we are then later prone to complain about,
without understanding where its seeds were sown.

The art of practicing restraint and displaying perseverance is
called Mindfulness. It is a beautiful art of living and something
that Japan as a country has mastered over time.

He who loves
Love and mindfulness work together. Love is the beginning
of all things good and godly, while mindfulness, coupled with
compassion is the force by which love is expressed. Love is
God and God is Love and it is He who began all things in love.
Meaning that there is nothing a man can do outside of love
that will please God. Yes, the Bible says that without faith it
is impossible to please God, however, faith comes from hear-
ing the word of God who is Love. So love is the beginning of
all faith and compassion, and therefore, the only way to live.

Even for those who are not Christians, or those who say there
is no God, the ways and the thoughts of God are so ingrained
in nature and the things we see, that we really do not have any
excuses for not living out the patterns of love and mindfulness.

192