When speaking about how he felt when he walked out of prison after being imprisoned for 27 years, Nelson Mandela said “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.” This to me is a powerful reminder that holding onto hatred and bitterness can cause us pain, and forgiveness can bring about freedom.
This moment of clarity that Nelson Mandela had as he walked out of prison to be a free man defined how he would later lead South Africa, as its President, towards unity and reconciliation. Sometimes in our own lives we have moments of clarity that are like epiphanies and these should be cherished and be explored, because they can define how we continue to live our lives.
The decisions we make every day on how we should treat each other, how we should conduct ourselves, these are important decisions to be made. If we feel, however, that trying to find such moments of clarity is too difficult then we can look to those people greater than ourselves for their moments of clarity. We can look to people like Nelson Mandela and others for examples on how to live through what we are living through, and how to thrive.
The Fullfilment Project 