THINKING THROUGH.

During Nelson Mandela's 19 years imprisonment on Robben Island, one particular commanding officer was the most brutal of them all:

"A few days before Badenhorst's departure, I was called to the main office. General Steyn was visiting the island and wanted to know if we had any complaints. Badenhorst was there as I went through a list of demands. When I had finished, Badenhorst spoke to me directly.

He told me he would be leaving the island and added: 'I just want to wish you people good luck'. I do not know if I looked dumbfounded, but I was amazed. He spoke these words like a human being and showed a side of himself we had never seen before. I thanked him for his good wishes and wished him luck in his endeavours.

I thought about this moment for a long time afterwards. Badenhorst had perhaps been the most callous and barbaric commanding officer we had had on Robben Island. But that day in the office, he had revealed that that there was another side to his nature, a side that had been obscured but still existed.

It was a useful reminder that all men, even the most seemingly cold-blooded, have a core of decency and that, if their hearts are touched, they are capable of changing. Ultimately, Badenhorst was not evil; his inhumanity had been foisted upon him by an inhuman system. He behaved like a brute because he was rewarded for brutish behaviour."

Source: "Long Walk To Fredom" by Nelson Mandela

Within these days following his death, the life and times of the former South Africa's President Nelson Mandela continues to draw attention. I remember him within these days and hope that in the days ahead we shall have same zeal and passion for doing what is right and good to the common man. His 27 years in jail is easier thought about than encountered. He understood that people do what they do because of what is motivating them but dared to preserve his own inner convictions of not holding grudges unneccesarily.These trying moments refined him and when he left jail, he left all the anger and bitterness behind because he believed he was truly a free man. Some people are free but live as slaves in the prison yard of an unforgiving heart. In his own words, “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.”

Are you one of such that finds it hard to forgive? Dare to forgive today. Sometimes, love is the greatest weapon we use to win the war of hatred. I know it can sometimes be very hard to forgive but try and learn to forgive today and walk in a wider realm of freedom.

I believe in you!

D-Motivator.