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Nelson Mandela – Compelled To Make A Difference

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Nelson Mandela – Compelled To Make A Difference

By Chere Harbridge

Today we remember the birthday of Nelson Mandela, who was born on July 18, 1918. Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist. He spent most of his life working to dismantle the legacy of apartheid. This did not put him in good stead with the government, and in 1961 he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment.  

While in jail,and being a political prisoner, he suffered much at the hands of the jailers.  He was confined to a small cell with no bed or plumbing and forced to do hard labor.  He received less rations than the others and was subjected to humiliating abuse.

Mandela Became A Household Name

But even prison couldn’t keep him down.  While there he earned a bachelor of law degree from the University of London and became a mentor to his fellow prisoners, encouraging them to seek better treatment through non-violent resistance.  He also smuggled out political statements as well as a draft of his autobiography “Long Walk To Freedom”  Some of us might remember the campaign “Free Nelson Mandela” that began in the 1980’s.  This campaign made the jailed leader become a household name.  As government pressure mounted, Mandela was offered his freedom in exchange for various political compromises.  He rejected this deal, and remained a prisoner for another 8 years until his freedom was finally granted by a newly elected President, F.W. de Klerk.

What Propelled This Man Forward?

Most of  us know the rest of the story.  Nelson Mandela became the first black President of South Africa, and his government has been able to create immense change in the nation’s apartheid laws, including a new South African constitution.  This man would not be stopped.  So deeply held were his convictions that nothing, not even 27 years in a prison cell, could change his mind and heart about what he knew to be right and true.  I think it goes without saying that this man is deeply loved and respected the world over.

So, was he following his dreams?  We can’t say for sure, but he was certainly following his heart, and his convictions.  Did he desire to choose a life that was filled with rejection, nay-sayers, upheaval and prison?  Not likely!  He did, however, choose to go that route for the cause he believed in with everything that was in him.

What Can His Story Teach Us?woman_thinking200x212

Most of us won’t be called to become the next President or Premier or even political activist.  But ALL of us have convictions.  All of us believe something to be true and right, for us at least, with everything in us.  For some, that might be the belief that if we eat right and move our bodies, we will feel better.  For others, that will be the belief that our kids deserve our time and the best we can bring to the table as parents.  Or perhaps our conviction is getting the chemicals out of our lives.  Or choosing to live our Best. Life. Ever.

Whatever our own convictions are, they are just as important in the world that is around us, as Nelson Mandela’s convictions were to him.  I hope that most of us won’t have to suffer as he did, but many of us, yes, may have people around us that don’t understand our decisions, either. That could be our decisions toward better health, or more quality family life, or choosing to shop organic instead of processed.  Not everyone will ‘get’ everything we do.  Certainly not everyone ‘got’ Mandela.  But that didn’t stop him.

Just for today, let’s allow Nelson Mandela’s amazing life be an inspiration to us. Let’s refuse to let those around us, those nay-sayers, those negative nellies, or even (and especially) those voices in our own heads – stop us from doing what we know for ourselves and our own lives,  is right and true.  Whatever that may be.

*****

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