DiarUbuntu: The spirit of parenting
June 30th 2008 06:06
"It takes a village to raising a child"
One of the great paradoxes of this 'the information and communication age' is that, in deferring to the very technologies that are effectively blurring international and geographic boundaries thus thrusting toward global citizenship, we are effectively distancing ourselves from neighbours and friends.
One way in which we see this playing out is through the war of words between government bodies, welfare groups and the pockets of the community over issues of child welfare and abuse. The unfortunate thing in all of this is it takes a tragedy to arouse interest and that each party seems to want to shift responsibility on to another. Neighbours after the event acknowledge that they should have done something sooner; local and state authorities externalise by accusing one another, claiming a lack of communication or deferring blame to resourcing issues; and federal authorities turn to policy and rhetoric over coordination strategies. What nobody seems to want to acknowledge is that when we choose to live in a community and partake of its more alluring activities, each of us must also accept responsibility for the welfare of our neighbours (children and adults alike). For ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and provide a support network for its parents.
The Zulu have a maxim “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”, often referred to as the spirit of ubuntu, which roughly translated means …
“a person is a person through other persons.”
While each of us must define and travel our own path, the journey is never a totally individual one. I believe that every person who comes into our life comes for a reason, some come to learn and others come to teach. Whether we find ourselves teaching or learning at any instance within our common journey, we all have the opportunity to find meaning, points of reference, from the interactions that we experience which will guide us through life’s great adventure.
Therefore, each of us has a responsibility, in the spirit of ubuntu, to foster connectedness and spiritual growth with those whose paths we cross, through positive relationships that are built on the basis of mutual respect and support; open relationships that are made available to, and affirming of, others; strong, long-term relationships that are built on the assurance that comes from knowing that we all belong to a greater whole that is devalued and cheapened when others are humiliated or diminished.
It is a pity that we preoccupy ourselves so with using the technology of the information and communication age that we forget our intrinsically social heritage is about interacting directly with one another and providing positive support where it is needed.
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