Archbishop Desmond Tutu RIP

In a time of uncertainty and hardship for so many with doom and gloom all over the news, I do like to look to inspiring people for joy and light.  Even in the darkest of days during the struggles in South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu could bring joy to others as well as fighting strenuously for the rights of indigenous South Africans.  

This post has been going around Facebook. In case you do not use Facebook or have missed it, I thought it would be a really good post to share. This man was so inspiring, wise and so very, very strong.

Some of Archbishop Desmond Tutus quotes of pure wisdom

1. "We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low."

2. "Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world."

3. "Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realise our need of one another."

4. "When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land."

5. "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."

6. "My father always used to say, "Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument." Good 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."

7. "Forgiving is not forgetting; its actually remembering--remembering and not using your right to hit back. Its a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you dont want to repeat what happened."

8. "We learn from history that we don't learn from history."

9. "Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes."

10. "A person is a person through other persons; you can't be human in isolation; you are human only in relationships."

11. "There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in."

Ed: that last one is a real doozy.