How does one define a great life? I think
one measure of greatness has to be with having taught others. Did you come to this world to teach? What was
the lesson? Did you leave the world a better place? Madiba’s life was a great
life. His was a spirit, a soul sent to teach us so many lessons; lessons that
took 94 years of his presence to teach us.
This is not homage to a dead man. The fact
is Madiba will never die. Here are the 10 lessons, and counting, that I learned
from him.
1.
The
first of many lessons was patience. We need patience in the face of our
adversaries. The simple response is to meet their evil with violence. But what
would the lesson be in that? That the one with the most imagination for evil
wins? No. Madiba taught us something deeper and more meaningful awaits the world
when we meet evil doers (as recalcitrant children) with patience in our eyes.
2.
Another
great lesson from Madiba is that of sacrifice. You must be willing to sacrifice
your personal safety and peace for the greater good. The high road is not an
easy one. It’s not a comfortable one. It’s one that leads you to the mouth of
the apartheid/racist/evil beasts. You become the mark of their antithesis. You
are not hidden or blended in the many, your face is used for dart practice. Instead
of running into a cave to silently await their epitome, you give your life to
that cause. By that sacrifice, all others are saved and find a voice and
strength to fight on for justice.
3.
There
is a difference between being in the right and justice. While justice permitted
the imprisonment of the architects and perpetrators of evil, the right option
would be to end feud by choosing to teach by example. Justice would have
permitted a global feud between whites and non whites. Doing the right thing
permitted even some whites to see how evil their regimes have been.
4.
Being
right is not always popular. Everyone expected Madiba to wage an outright war
on whites in SA (and those around the world who supported the apartheid regime)
for his false imprisonment, and for having kept his people in subjugation. However,
Madiba taught us that more love can grow in our hearts from pain. That having
been victims of evil does not mean we cannot grow even higher in our love and
compassion. In fact, we become immune to it.
5.
We
don’t live in a just world. The most unjust are leading us into evil. Instead
of separating ourselves from them, we must teach them. The concept of Umbuntu
does not permit us to live in isolation atop a hill waiting for our sole
deliverance. We must join the dirty, the ugly and evil, to permit us all to
live in a just and good world.
6.
Don’t
let pain overwhelm our being. It’s easy to give in to the pain and suffering.
The best we can do for ourselves, and the greater good, is to dig further into
forgiveness and peace of mind.
7.
Find
good in the pain. I cannot imagine what his life was like not having been there
to see his children grow up. All the tears he did not dry. All the stories he
did not get to tell. But instead, he understood his life as a gift to the world,
not just his family. Instead of focusing on what his children were missing, he
thought of all the children, from Egypt to Zimbabwe, who were denied basic
human rights.
8.
People
can change, at least, pretend to. Madiba was considered one of the world’s most
infamous terrorist. The US only removed him from their list in 2008. Now, he is
comparable to God like men who formed world religions.
9.
You
don’t need to be a god to fight for justice. You just need a good sense of right
and wrong.
10. In the words of Bob Marley, “many people
will fight you down, when you see the light. But let me tell you if you are not
wrong, then everything is all right.” Madiba!
