It’s 11 years since former President Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95. And this Thursday, 18 July, would have been his 106th birthday. Hence the 18th of July has long since become Mandela Day, an annual global celebration to honour his life and legacy. It’s a day we are all called to action to reflect on his values and principles, and a day to make a positive impact on our society, communities, and world.
Mandela’s legacy is vast, and he had such a positive influence. Some people do criticise him for various reasons, and that’s their right. However, his immense positivity and ability to always see the glass half full enabled him to walk out of prison after 27 years of being incarcerated and still look up, not down. Despite what was thrown at him for almost three decades, he managed to avoid being full of hatred and anger.
He was kept from his young wife and children for that time, during which they were living their own nightmares and he couldn’t be there for them. This must have been devastating for him. Also, many of his years in prison were spent doing hard labour on Robben Island. Some would say he had 27 years of his life taken from him, only he didn’t see it like that, nor did he allow what happened to him to taint his future.
He walked out of there 72 years old, but with a will to live and build South Africa into the country he dreamed of. He set aside any anger to focus on building a nation free of racism, hatred, and animosity. He was determined to reconcile this country, in which there would be social justice for all men, women, and children so they could live together in peace and harmony. No matter what was done by white people, he was determined to build a colour-blind country. He was on a mission to build the country most of us still long to live in, and under his leadership, he took us a distance in that direction.
Although it has been a long time since he was our leader and more than a decade since he died, there’s still so much we can learn from the example he set as leader and a human being. He refused to live in the past and focused on what he could accomplish in the present and future. Mandela was known to get a maximum of five hours of sleep a night because he believed he needed all his waking hours to accomplish what he had to do.
He was a man determined to achieve so much with the years he had left. Amazingly, he was president for only five years, but he changed the way the world looked at South Africa, and he made South Africans proud to be part of this country.
How many people do you know who see themselves as “past it” at 75? How many over 75-year-olds are changing lives, let alone a country? How many people do you know who could achieve just a fraction of what this man achieved in their lives, let alone in just five years as a septuagenarian? Not a helluva lot, but why not? He was, after all, only human, just like us.
It isn’t about age, but about perception. It’s about having a dream and a mission that you believe is worth putting your all into to realise. Mandela was the kind of leader who woke up every morning thinking about South Africans and how he could make this country better for them. That’s the kind of leadership we need.
We want that leadership like that here, in Israel, in the United States – everywhere actually. We want world leaders like that because that’s what will secure the future of our countries and planet. Leaders who think only of what works best for them and their parties are invariably leaders who make it into power but never truly benefit their people. In these cases, it doesn’t matter whether you are right or left wing, or who you represent. If you are on the side of the people, you will benefit the country no matter your politics. If you are on the side of your own success and fame, you won’t benefit anyone.
Unfortunately, the latter appears to be the most common type of leader in 2024. I dream of living in a world full of leaders like Mandela. He was inspirational, and gave us a sense of pride in who we are as a nation that nobody else has done before or since.
Also, as we age, it’s easy to see the process as something negative and an end to all we can achieve. Mandela is the perfect example of what a load of nonsense that is. If you have work to do, a mission to achieve, and health on your side, there’s little that can stop you.
We all have different periods in our lives, some which make it more difficult to focus on specific goals. However, I would hate to live this life without having fulfilled a dream, and hopefully in this life, I’ll be able to achieve more than one.
I accept that we aren’t all Nelson Mandela, and we may not all have his vision. We may also not have as big a goal or plan as he did, however we all have dreams. There may not be a million things to do in our lives, but if we have one dream or goal to achieve, don’t let it go! Make it happen! Take on the challenge!
I do believe we should all be trying to spend at least 67 minutes a day every day doing good for others. If that isn’t possible, then at least do something good on Mandela Day. However, consider using Mandela’s legacy to inspire you to fulfil your dreams and make every day a day you can bring your positive goals a little closer to fruition.
Imagine if every one of us had such a plan, just how much good we could do for our people, our country, and our universe. Here’s to living a Mandela legacy life!
Shabbat Shalom!
Peta Krost
Editor
