During the new year, it is an especially meaningful time to reflect upon humanity, including our own "human-ness" and the human-ness of others. In this regard, there is a humanistic concept advanced in South Africa called "Ubuntu" that I would like to introduce as a new mindset during this new year. The full expression in Zulu of this concept is UBUNTU NGUMUNTU NGABANTU, translated roughly into English as "A person is only a person through other persons." Importantly, Ubuntu is not about relationships per se; rather, it is about human-ness and how only human beings can establish the human-ness of others. In effect, our human-ness can only be truly expressed as a "reflection" of others, which also means that we must be able to extend "beyond" ourselves (also known as "self-transcendence") so that we can fulfill or realize more "of" ourselves.
To gain an appreciation for the reflective basis for self-transcendence, let me now share with you the following story, called "The Echo," that appears in my book, Prisoners of Our Thoughts:
"A son and his father are walking in the mountains. Suddenly, the son falls, hurts himself, and screams: 'AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!' To his surprise, he hears a voice repeating, somewhere in the mountains: 'AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!' Curious, he yells out: 'Who are you?' He receives the answer: 'Who are you?' And then he screams to the mountain: 'I admire you!' The voice answers: 'I admire you!' Angered at the response, he screams: 'Coward!' He receives the answer: 'Coward!' He looks to his father and asks: 'What's going on?' The father smiles and says: 'My son, pay attention.' Again, the man screams: 'You are a champion!' The voice answers: 'You are a champion!' The boy is surprised, but does not understand. Then the father explains: 'People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. if you want more competency in your team, improve your own competency. This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life. Life will give you back everything you have given to it. Your life is not a coincidence. It's a reflection of you'"
Now, during this new year, I ask you to stop and think for a moment. Are you paying attention and listening to YOUR Echo? From what life seems to be calling out to you, what are you calling out to life? Happy New Year!