Born: July 18, 1918
Died: December 5, 2013
Stephen R. Covey taught us that,
“There are certain things that are fundamental to human fulfillment. The essence of these needs is captured in the phrase;
to live, to love, to learn,
to leave a legacy
….the need to leave a legacy is our spiritual need to have a sense of meaning, purpose, personal congruence, and contribution.”
Nelson Mandela’s life, without question, had a sense of meaning, purpose, congruence and contribution…and he undoubtedly left a legacy. His name has been memorialized on places, streets, parks, a prehistoric bird, a flower, a landfill and even a non-existent sub-atomic particle. Not many across the expanse of time have been so venerated during their lifetime as Nelson Mandela.
And now at age 95, he has passed. And now, in death, his legacy lives.
Hero of the apartheid struggle, Mandela spent 27 years confined as a political convict in a 7-foot square prison cell.
When he entered that cell much of recent history had not yet been spent…John F. Kennedy had not yet met the challenge of the Cuban missile crisis…the Beatles had not sung their first song…no man had stepped on the moon—
Then 27 painful years later Mandela walked free and became South Africa’s first democratically elected president, brought an end to apartheid, became a global advocate for human rights, received the Nobel Peace Prize, and was awarded the United States’ highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
History has not many times witnessed the collective bereavement as that which has met the death of Nelson Mandela.
Tens of thousands of mourners overflowed FNB Stadium in Johannesburg in the drizzling rain to pay tribute to South Africa’s icon. He is remembered as the “patron saint of equality, peace, and human rights….a spirit that not only changed political history, but also tirelessly elevated humanity into a higher version of itself.” Mandela’s legacy of words and passion:
- “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
- “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.”
- “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
- “A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.”
- “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.”
- “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
- “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.”
- “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
- “Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”
“In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness, persistence and faith.
He tells us what’s possible not just in the pages of dusty history books,
but in our own lives as well.”
— President Obama
“We promise to God
we will follow the example of Nelson Mandela.”
—Archbishop Desmond Tutu