18/07/2021
Mandela Day
18.07.21
Oil on canvas (by me)
“Africanacity” (cropped)
I am itching to get out there and DO SOMETHING… to help physically with clean up operations, to work alongside fellow Durbanites, to chat, laugh, feel like I am making a difference. But not yet being 4 weeks into recovery after my op I feel a little useless (and frustrated) 🤨.
So instead, I reflect on these words spoken by Nelson Mandela. As the morning sun soaks into my skin I let these words soak into my heart. As the birds sing their carefree songs into the new day I felt hope flood back into my heart and mind.
I hope these words do the same for you.
“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
“I have learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
“As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
“Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.”
“Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.”
“Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.”
“A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.”
“Your playing small does not serve the world. Who are you not to be great?”
