Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95 yesterday. If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from Mandela’s life, it is the power of one human being to drive great societal change.
My memory of Nelson Mandela owes it’s thanks to Hollywood. I loved Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of the great man in “Invictus.” And today, I’d like to share the poem the movie is named after by William Ernest Henley. Freeman’s poignant rendition of the poem is memorable.
“Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.”
My wife and I have “Live invictus – I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” should be one of our 3 family values. In many ways, Nelson Mandela will live on..in our home.
If you have hopes and dreams of driving change that may be un-thinkable or unimaginable, I hope you remember what Mandela accomplished in his lifetime. That he accomplished all of that after spending 27 years in prison is incredible.
Thank you Nelson Mandela. Thank you for teaching us that ‘it is possible.’
A Learning a Day 