Note: Yesterday I wrote up a recap for one of my DnD games, so while I wrote, it’s not here on the blog, I’m still on track to write everyday in July!
Today marks what would have been Nelson Mandel’a 100th birthday. I remember where I was on the day he died: I was on a treadmill at the Penn Hills Y watching the news coverage, saddened and tearing up.
His story shows both some of the worst and best that humanity is capable of, and I think that’s why I’m drawn to it so much. I’ve listened to Archbishop Tutu speak of his close friend, and read many of his speeches, but what I know Mandela barely scratches the surface of what he did and who he was.
Still though, his dedication to democracy, and his example of the spirit of reconciliation are admirable and at least in myself, I feel unattainable. But much like other shining examples, I hope I can strive to be the man he knew that I was.
On the news of his death, President Obama said this:
The day he was released from prison gave me sense of what human beings can do when they’re guided by their hopes and not by their fears.
And maybe it was because 2013 was such a different time, but I can remember how much his death affected me that day and those following. Mandela’s work continues on through his foundation and The Elders, and I hope that we can all continue to live up to his giant legacy.
