African & Ubuntu Traditions
“I am because we are.”
— Ubuntu philosophy (Southern Africa)
“A person is a person through other persons.”
— Ubuntu philosophy (Southern Africa)
“One finger cannot lift a pebble.”
— African proverb
“A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.”
— West African proverb
“The earth is not ours; it is a treasure we hold in trust for our children.”
— African proverb (various attributions)
“However long the night, the dawn will break.”
— African proverb
“The forest is strong because the trees stand together.”
— African proverb
Confucian (Classical Chinese) Tradition
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
— Confucian teaching
“The superior person seeks harmony, not uniformity.”
— Confucian Analects
“To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order;
to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order;
to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life.”
— Confucian teaching
“If the ruler himself is upright, all will go well without orders.”
— Confucian Analects
“He who governs by virtue is like the North Star — it remains in its place, while all the other stars revolve around it.”
— Confucian Analects
“When you see a worthy person, seek to become like them.
When you see an unworthy person, examine yourself.”
— Confucian teaching
Secular Arabic & Middle Eastern Wisdom
“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
— Arabic proverb
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
— Arabic / Persian wisdom tradition
“A person’s worth is known by what they give, not by what they take.”
— Arabic proverb
“Trust is the foundation of the tent.”
— Arabic desert proverb
“He who knows himself knows his Lord.”
— Classical Arabic wisdom (often read secularly as self-knowledge → wisdom)
Australian Indigenous Wisdom
(Paraphrased respectfully from oral traditions; meanings vary across nations)
“The land is not owned by us; we belong to the land.”
— Australian Aboriginal worldview
“Care for Country, and Country will care for you.”
— Australian Aboriginal principle
“We do not inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
— Indigenous wisdom (shared across several cultures)
“Listen to the land — it remembers.”
— Australian Indigenous worldview (paraphrased)
Māori (Aotearoa / New Zealand)
“He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.”
What is the most important thing in the world?
It is people, it is people, it is people.
— Māori proverb
“Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.”
With your basket and my basket, the people will thrive.
— Māori proverb
“Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua.”
I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on the past.
— Māori proverb
Hawaiian (Aloha ʻĀina & Lokahi)
“Lokahi.”
Unity, balance, harmony.
— Hawaiian philosophy
“The land is chief; the people are its servants.”
— Hawaiian Aloha ʻĀina principle
“When you care for the land, the land will care for you.”
— Hawaiian wisdom
“Morning is wiser than evening.”
— Russian proverb
“God sees the truth, but waits.”
— Russian proverb
(often read secularly as: truth endures beyond power)
“One hand washes the other.”
— Russian proverb
“Not red in the corners, but red in the people.”
— Russian proverb
(“Red” meaning beautiful, vital)
“Don’t spit into the well — you may need to drink from it.”
— Russian proverb
“Live not by lies.”
— Russian moral principle
Andean (Quechua / Aymara)
“Ayni.”
Sacred reciprocity: what you take, you must return.
— Andean ethical principle
Native North American (Various Nations)
“Consider the impact of your decisions on the next seven generations.”
— Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) principle
Jewish Ethical Humanism (Rabbinic Tradition)
“Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”
— Talmudic teaching
Celtic (Irish / Scottish)
“From the place of unknowing, understanding grows.”
— Celtic wisdom (paraphrased)
Stoic (Greco-Roman, Secular)
“Do your duty. Release the rest.”
— Stoic philosophy (paraphrased)