philipchircop: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM For those who desire to spend...

philipchircop:

LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

For those who desire to spend some time today reflecting on some words of wisdom spoken and lived by Nelson Mandela, here are a few quotations  from his autobiography: Long Walk to Freedom:

• “I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” (page 391)

• “A leader…is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” (page 22)

• “I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.” (page 95)

• “Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.” (page 624)

• “A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but it’s lowest ones” (page 201)

• “Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savor their songs.” (page 84)

• “I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.” (page 611)

Painting | Nelson Mandela by Paul Blomkamp