Hello
Everyone –
Five
years ago next week, on December 5, 2013, Nelson Mandela passed away at the age
of 95 in South Africa. Here are a few poems and quotes that celebrate the
living spirit of Nelson Mandela – statesman, peacemaker, and Nobel laureate
extraordinaire. The first two items were personal favorites of his that brought
him great strength and courage during his 27-year imprisonment – and also
afterward – as he carried on the struggle against injustice throughout the 67
years of his public life. Mandela is a sterling example of how one person can
change the world for the better – and gives lasting proof that positive change
can be accomplished in the world, one person at a time.
“INVICTUS”
(1875)
By
William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)
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.
THE
MAN IN THE ARENA
By
Theodore Roosevelt (1856-1919), 26th President of the United States
Excerpted
from the Speech Citizenship in a Republic
Delivered
at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April 1910
“It
is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man
stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit
belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust
and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and
again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does
actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great
devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the
end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at
least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those
cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Quotations
from Nelson Mandela’s Autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom (1995)
·
“I
learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The
brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
·
“The
greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we
fall.”
·
“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.”
·
“And
as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to
do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others.”
Additional
information about Nelson Mandela and the charitable work of the Nelson Mandela
Foundation can be found @ http://www.nelsonmandela.org/.
Quotemail
will begin its annual series of weekly Yuletide features next Friday, December
7, which will conclude with a special edition on the day of the Winter Solstice,
December 21. Stay tuned!
Until
next week –
Rob :)
