Resilience in difficult times - lessons from Mandela

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Soweto is not your everyday informal settlement turned city. Unique in its historical legacy, as the stomping ground for many freedom fighters during the liberation struggle; Soweto possesses a wealth of diversity and colour.

And even though I have spent most of my adult life in Soweto, I have never taken the time to explore and reflect on the rich culture of the township.

Following a day search for the “perfect” outing, I found myself at Vilakazi Street – which tells one much about the township and the country. Here, children fought for freedom and Nobel Prizes were won.

And now that rich history is told in art and the street has also became a social hub, where local and international tourists gather to enjoy a meal or have a drink.

In its boundaries are the original, unimaginative apartheid-era rectangular houses, next to homes that have been renovated, with the uniform tall walls characteristic of Johannesburg’s affluent suburbs.

My first stop was outside number 8115, which is the street’s main attraction, the Mandela House, where the former President lived until the 1990’s - now a museum.

The simple three-bedroomed home has been restored to what it looked like in 1946, when Nelson Mandela moved in with his first wife.

Outside the house stands a large metal outline of two bull heads, entitled The Nobel Laureates. The title refers to the fact that on the corner of Vilakazi and Ngakane streets, a short distance away, is the Soweto home of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who, together with Mandela, are the recipients of a Nobel Peace Prize.

Standing outside – I got lost in thought. For a while, I forgot about my “middle” class life challenges where there are always errands to run and I reflected on how Mandela and many others sacrificed so much of their lives for the betterment of the society we live in today.

Madiba has been an inspiration to many across the globe. Although he was shamed, taunted, castigated, tortured and imprisoned - he never compromised his values and never gave up.

Instead he learned to banish fear and nourish hope. He learned to use his darkest times to forge an even greater commitment to his goal: the day when all South Africans would vote in free and fair elections and form a multi-racial government.

This took me back to his book, “Long Walk to Freedom” where he wrote that through all that he endured, he learned not to hate or feel sorry for himself and that he learned that there is a seed of goodness in every person.

“I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity … Even in the grimmest times in prison, when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits, I would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the guards, perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure me and keep me going.”

This made me think that maybe, just maybe, there is always another way of looking at things.

I reflected on Mandela’s life story- from what I have learned from the books and through the stories I grew up hearing about him – I asked myself as a young person trying to “make it” in the new South Africa, what has Mandela taught me as an individual and “how will I remember him 10 years from now?”

On a personal level, yes, I take all the obvious lessons from his story: the value of persistence and moral courage, the importance of never compromising one’s core values, maintaining hope in the face of a hopeless situation.

But standing outside 8115, I saw his life as a sort of zen parable that applies to all of us, even to those like me whose greatest problems are the high petrol and food prices and minor health ailments.

I do not in any way suggest that he is a saint, because as human beings we are all fallible.

However, if there is anything to take from his life  - it’s that there is no such thing as wasted time and that every moment; we are where we are supposed to be.

When we look for the good in others and find the courage and perseverance in ourselves, we can transform the world.

Mandela’s life story, has taught me that forgiveness cleanses the soul. Whether I  have been discriminated against, misinterpreted, ridiculed, deceived, ignored, betrayed, thrown into puddles of weeping pain and sorrow, like Mandela, I have it within myself to accept what has happened, move forward with my head held high and forgive.

I have also taken the lesson that every time in our lives - no matter how trying- how different from our expectations- that by carrying out even the most mundane acts with integrity, by accepting trials rather than whining in self-pity that they are “not fair” – I can find the meaning in every moment.

With Mandela Day on Thursday, how will you remember him?  And how will you preserve and carry his legacy going forward?

While he’s alive, and after he passes, I know I will continue to draw on Madiba’s life example of what’s possible when you’re committed to a cause- when you dedicate your life.

As a child of South Africa, I will continue to pass his story and lessons he has instilled in me- the value of bravery and character to my daughter and younger generations so that they can understand how far we have come as a country. – SAnews.gov.za