Nelson Mandela

“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realized. But my lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Nelson Mandela.

The world lost a great and powerful man yesterday, Mr. Nelson Mandela. And when I use the word powerful I use it not in the conventional sense but in the spiritual and symbolic sense. Mandela learned that fighting with his fists got him nowhere but fighting with the power of intention and the use of love opened the door to reconciliation and forgiveness. By forgiving himself for all he had done, allowed him to forgive those who had wronged him.

He was a man who symbolized that no one can break our soul unless we allow them. No man can cast stones at us and break our will unless we stand with our chests and heads exposed giving them the opening to break us, maim us. No one can deter us from our goal unless we allow them.

Nelson Mandela also taught us by example the power of forgiveness and the power of being a silent warrior. A man who lived by his words, “Hating clouds the mind. It gets in the way of strategy. Leaders cannot afford to hate." Allowing himself to become a true statesman.

Mandela was not without fault. And neither was he a saint. But a man who managed to transform from a man who believed in violence to achieve his goals to a man who saw there was a greater way to change the world he lived in from the most unlikely place – his prison cell. At the age of 44, Mandela was manacled and placed in a prison for life. He was released at age 71 – some 27 years of his life spent in a single cell. Instead of being bitter toward his oppressors, he moved on with this life saying it was the years he spent in prison that allowed to become a free man. That allowed him to realize the most dangerous shackles we could ever wear are the shackles of our minds.

Mandela learned through imprisonment that no man can imprison another unless he allows himself to be imprisoned. That a physical prison is far easier to deal with and shed than a mental prison. That there are some who walk around as free men who will never know the meaning of freedom because they are imprisoned in their minds and get so caught up in hate and revenge and spite that they never see the beauty of the world around them. Never see the opportunities that present themselves to us each and every day.

Many would have buckled under the oppression imposed upon Mandela but he knew from a young age he was a man sent to do something great – to help liberate his country from apartheid – to help them see that no man regardless of his skin colour is superior to another – that we are all created equal in the eyes of the Creator.

In a moving tribute to Nelson Mandela, President Obama so aptly said, "He no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages ... His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to."

And I second that, I also say he belongs with the angels. With the angels who walk amongst us. Who help us to see no matter what, no matter where, no matter whom, we are one – created in the image of the One Source. Reminding us every once in a while an angel walks this Earth in the physical form becoming a beacon of hope, faith and love. Reminding us from whence we have come and to where we will return. Rest in Peace Sir Nelson Mandela, may your spirit continue to soar amongst us opening our hearts to forgiveness and reconciliation, peace and love, compassion and passion, to understand we are one.

I will always think in reverence of you Sir Nelson for your legacy is that of the peaceful and dignified warrior who looked fear in the face and moved through it and look back at it with appreciation for the gift it gave to you – the gift of self and love. I am so grateful to have shared this human space with you even though we never met, our souls touched in more ways than one.  Namaste.