Importance of Parental Love

Archbishop Tutu frequently refers to humankind's natural parental instincts to accurately describe joy. "Think of a mother who is going to give birth," he directs the reader, "after the painful labor, once the baby is out, you can't measure the mother's joy" (32). Though humans have a natural inclination to avoid pain, "nothing beautiful in the end comes without a measure of some pain, some frustration, some suffering" (45). The same way a mother turns her pain and suffering into a beautiful gift, the Archbishop believes each individual has the ability to turn their suffering into something beautiful.