"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." (This quote is especially true for me and my experience this summer returning to the SOS Children's Village in Tlokweng, Botswana. I am now understanding the depth of my personal growth in the past year since I first experienced the kids at SOS. This place will always hold a special place in my heart and represents many things for me.)
"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." (I vowed at the end of the program this year to always continue to want more out of life, to never stop learning, and to never settle.)
"I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended." (We must continually search out goodness.)
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us: it's in everyone. And when 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."
"Where you stand depends on where you sit." (It's all about perspective and I have learned so much from listening to the perspectives of others.)
"No one is born hating another person because of the color 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."
"Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom."
"As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison." (What an amazing feat of forgiveness after such horrific and unjustifiable treatment of human beings. This represents the mentality in SA today: forgive but never forget. Amazing.)
"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. 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."
--Thank you Nelson!
Above: Taking it all in at the Robben Island Museum
(Photo cred: Maggie Campaigne)
Above: Mandela's cell on Robben Island, the fourth cell from the right
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