I learned that July 18th was national Mandela Day in South Africa and was encouraged that such a thoughtful man was once again being celebrated. The current podcast asks the question: why does it have to be just one day out of the year that we decide to think less about ourselves and do a kindness for someone else?
Mandela’s life was not an easy one, and when you think about all the years he spent in prison it would have been easy for him to come out a bitter man. What made his life so inspiring is that contrary to the expectation of his jailers, he used the time for quiet contemplation and realized where some of his thinking was right as well as wrong. And here is where the story becomes great: He walked out of prison with a resolve to put that thinking into action to help others understand what he had discovered. That despite our grievances, we are most alive when we touch or are touched by others and are willing to forgive.
The reordering of how we live our lives sometimes makes that message seem odd in an era of selfies and social media announcements. The fact that some elected make their kindness a photo opt speaks to that part of the equation. I choose to salute those people who quietly allowed someone in traffic to go ahead of them, who gave a smile when it was not required, saw someone struggling and offered a hand to help, or quietly said to themselves I don’t have to do this but I will.
That’s the thing about celebrating someone like Mandela on a particular day. It helps us forget that there are still 364 days remaining in the year and each has a bucket that needs to be filled with small kindnesses that don’t require documentation. Sometimes it is the unrecognized kindness one to another that can have the most impact on someone’s life.
But enough preaching. There is still time left in the day to put aside political, social, and emotional differences to just see another in need of a kind gesture. So I celebrate Mandela Day with a heart full of happiness. I plan to freely give those small kindnesses to others and hope you do the same. I’m waiting…
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