A Life Lived...

After a restful night in the Umtata compound, we headed to the Nelson Mandela Museum. “Madiba,” as he is called here was from Umtata and he himself came to open the museum in 2000. The museum traces Mandela’s life through quotes from his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, pictures, video, and other artifacts. Then there is room after room of gifts given to Madiba from all around the world. These gifts he accepted on behalf of the people of South Africa who struggled for their freedom. As a result, all the gifts are in this museum so that all can share in the world’s happiness over the end of apartheid. After viewing all of these amazing treasures, I couldn’t help but giggle over the suspicion that he probably had to put much of it in the museum because there was no room in his house for all of it.

When going through the museum, of course I continue to be affected by the sheer injustices of the time. It is interesting to note that Mandela does not believe that any particular event shaped him to political activism. Instead, he believes that every African is born political and it is through thousands of tiny humiliations and injustices that the activist emerges. It reminded me of being in the townships, and talking with our guide Brian. He told me that he would not be surprised if there was a large rebellion in South Africa because the people can only put up with so much poverty, so much crime, and so much injustice. After witnessing so much politically charged art over the past couple of days, one has to assume that Mandela is correct and that as long as there is so much inequality and injustice all Africans are born political.
The other thing that was really powerful to me is how much Mandela commented on the affect his political life had on his personal life. He spoke of his honor of being “father to a nation” when his greatest regret is not being able to be a true father to his children. Throughout his life and even up to present day Mandela wondered about the sacrifices that he made in dedicating his life to the struggle for freedom in South Africa, wondering if he had chosen the right path, made the best decisions, and even if it was all worth it. It made me realize that if Nelson Mandela feels this way after an amazing remarkable life that changed the course of the world, there is hope for all of us on our own individual human quest to live our best life. While we have not been thrown into a deplorable prison system for 30 years of our adult lives, it was amazing that Mandela had many of the same reflections that we all do. In acknowledgement of choosing the most difficult path, Mandela is honored by the thousands of gifts – from extravagant statues and priceless artifacts to the simplicity of a child’s drawing or an individual’s letter. The most powerful of which perhaps honored Mandela’s struggle the most: “Your pain has healed the nation and the world. If I had the heavenly powers I would give you another life.”