Nelson Mandela
Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
I have walked that long road to freedom.
I have tried not to falter;
I have made missteps along the way.
But I have discovered the secret
that, after climbing a great hill,
one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
I have taken a moment here to rest,
to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me,
to look back on the distance I have come.
But I can only rest for a moment,
for with freedom comes responsibilities,
and I dare not linger,
for my long walk is not ended.
If you talk to a man
in a language he understands,
that goes to his head.
If you talk to him
in his own language,
that goes to his heart.
Let freedom reign.
The sun never set
on so glorious a human achievement.
Let there be work,
bread, water and salt
for all.
There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere,
and many of us will have to pass
through the valley of the shadow of death
again and again
before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
I am not a saint,
unless you think of a saint
as a sinner who keeps on trying.
There is nothing like returning
to a place that remains unchanged
to find the ways
in which you yourself have altered.
Money won't create success,
the freedom to make it will.
Only free men can negotiate;
prisoners cannot enter into contracts.
Your freedom and mine
cannot be separated.
The greatest glory in living
lies not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall.
There can be no keener revelation
of a society's soul
than the way in which it treats its children.
We must use time wisely
and forever realize
that the time is always ripe
to do right.
A good head and a good heart
are always a formidable combination.
If there are dreams
about a beautiful South Africa,
there are also roads
that lead to their goal.
Two of these roads
could be named Goodness
and Forgiveness.
When the water starts boiling
it is foolish to turn off the heat.
To be free
is not merely to cast off one's chains,
but to live in a way
that respects and enhances
the freedom of others.
NELSON MANDELA
by Muhammad Ali
Nelson Mandela is my hero. His story has come to symbolize the struggle
against the apartheid machine in South Africa. Apartheid, the terrible, and
often violent, institutionalized racism that for so long held South African
society in its grip, was not an easy policy to fight against--especially
since he was oppressed within the system. Mandela understands what it means
to fight against enormous odds; he went to prison for nearly three decades
for his work, because he knew there was no alternative. He believes that
every human being is of equal value.
Mandela is my hero because he survived many years of life as a subject of
colonialism. As a child in Africa, Mandela was a victim of the European
colonial project in that involved "civilizing" indigenous folks by silencing
African lifeways in favor of so-called Eurocentric high culture. Perhaps
finding his Xhosa name, Rolihlahla, too cumbersome or primitive, a teacher
assigned him the decidedly more English "Nelson" when he was a student at a
British colonial boarding school.
Mandela is my hero because he embraces all people like brothers and
sisters. He is one of the greatest civil rights leaders in world history.
Mandela is my hero because his spirit cannot be crushed. Imprisoned for his
political views in the early 1960s, Mandela refused to compromise his
position, which was equality and justice for all people. He sacrificed his
own freedom for the self-determination of all South Africans. He is
courageous and uncompromising.
Mandela is my hero because is a man of great personal honor, strength,
and integrity, but he was always fighting for something greater than
himself, and that was the freedom of an entire nation. It is painful to
imagine that this man, who radiates so much love, who espoused so many
truths, could have spent so much of his life in prison.
Mandela is my hero because he triumphed over injustice, and not in a
small way. Almost unimaginable just a few years before, Nelson Mandela
became the first democratically-elected president of South Africa in 1994
and served in that position for five years.
More than anyone in the world, Mandela embodies the hopes and dreams of a
true, lasting justice and equality, not just for South Africans but for all
people. It is Mandela—through his unselfish and constant presence on the
international stage raising awareness about AIDS, peace, debt relief, the
environment--who most inspires us to think responsibly of our fellow man and
of our planet.
Nelson Mandela has always inspired me to think beyond myself, to think of
people in the wider world as part of a common humanity. I am blessed by his
friendship. I love him for what he has accomplished, for what he has been
through, for his journey forward. He remains a hallmark of what it really
means to give of oneself selflessly--which is, indeed, a gift for us all.