The Book of Joy

interconnectedness. And there’s no way in which one nation is going to
be able to prosper on its own. It can’t. That’s not how we were made. We
were wired for this complementarity, this togetherness, this being family.
And even if you think it is sentimental, it isn’t sentimental. It’s for real.
“When you produce a lot, and you don’t say, ‘by the way there are
people over there who are hungry,’ and instead you destroy the surplus—
and you think it’s going to be okay—it can’t be okay, because you have
broken fundamental laws of the universe. And things will go
horrendously wrong.
“You don’t have to have scriptural or religious teaching. It’s just the
truth: You can’t survive on your own. If you say you are going to be
totally selfish, in next to no time the person who is totally selfish goes
under. You need other people in order to be human. That’s why when they
want to punish you they put you in solitary confinement. Because you
can’t flourish without other human beings. They give you things that you
cannot give yourself, no matter how much money you have. And so we
speak of Ubuntu. A person is a person through other persons. And there
must have been some people who said, ‘Ah, what a primitive way of
thinking.’ It’s the most fundamental law of our being. We flout that—we
flout it at our peril.”
The Archbishop’s eyes were transfixed, and he was speaking with the
passion and power of an Old Testament prophet who was trying to save
the people from ruin. I knew that speaking truth to power, as he always
did, was exhausting. However, he did not seem depleted. Perhaps he was
feeling energized by his role as a global village elder, who was still
desperately needed to bring a moral voice. Nonetheless, I wanted to be
careful to protect his limited strength. “Archbishop, I want to be mindful
of your energy. We have one last question related to this topic. How are
you doing?”
“No, no, I’m fine.”
“For one more question?
“You can give us as many as you like.”
“This question comes from Micah in South Africa. She asks, ‘How
can you be of service to people, nature, and causes in need without losing