A piece of wisdom from
September 29, 2026 · Tuesday
The quote
“Pseudo-productivity — measuring effort by visible activity — was a convenient fiction in offices. It became a catastrophe when the office moved into the home.”
— Cal Newport · Burnout
The concept
Ubuntu
Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. A person is a person through other people. The Southern African answer to the Western question.
When you greet someone in Zulu, you do not say hello. You say Sawubona, "I see you." The reply is Yebo, sawubona, "Yes, I see you too." The conversation cannot begin until both parties have been witnessed. This is Ubuntu in one breath: I am…
A practice for today
Walk one slow block today and observe the lesson of Ubuntu. Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. A person is a person through other people. The Southern African answer to the Western question.
From the Bhagavad Gita
Verse 12.13
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च। निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी॥
“He who hates no creature, who is friendly and compassionate, free from the sense of "I" and "mine", equal in pain and pleasure, patient — such a person is dear to me.”
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