Still immersed in the afterglow of the FIFA World Cup tournament, I have never felt such a great sense of patriotism of being a South African. I feel so proud of our nation, and a deep love for every one of its inhabitants. Africa is the special place we feel we are returning to, wherever we are born in the world, and we South Africans are blessed to truly call this place home. There is yet work to be done as our phoenix rises from the ashes of the Apartheid years, but we are getting there.
And now we have Nelson Mandela’s birthday on 18th July. How this incredible man came to perform his service in our country is another blessing we can be grateful for. He embodies the qualities of a saint, yet he was dressed in the garb of a lawyer, activist, prisoner and statesman. He reminds us that we don’t have to be in a monastery to change the world. That one man can make a difference, even when spending years isolated in a prison cell, away from his family. And yes, I do acknowledge those who supported his vision and cause, but I believe his was the humanitarian vision that allowed the rest of us to create peaceful change in atrocious times.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation and its sister organizations last year started calling for an international Mandela Day on 18 July to serve as a call to action for people to “recognise their individual power to make an imprint and help change the world around them for the better”. And Mandela’s response to that, in his inimitable style, was that he would be “honoured if such a day can serve to bring together people around the world to fight poverty and promote peace and reconciliation.”
The Mandela Day campaign is now calling on all the citizens of the world to give 67 minutes for Mandela – one minute for each year that Mandela has been making an imprint on the world, from 1942 – 2009, when he reached the age of 91. I am inspired and humbled by the life and work of this great man, and urge you to consider joining this great cause. Please see the links at the end of this article if you would like to do so.
What immediately came to mind is the Aura-Soma bottles 67 and 91. Bottle 67 Magenta / Magenta and Bottle 91 Olive Green / Olive Green. Complementary opposites in colour, polarities of the spectrum. They tell a little of this story.
Bottle 67 – Love from Above is described in Mike Booth’s Aura-Soma Handbook as having the main points of:
“Someone who is loyal and reliable; who will go beyond the call of duty. A creative, compassionate person; selfless in relationship. Someone who has a lot of love to give to others, to animals and the planet – gives love to all the little things including the inanimate.”
And Bottle 91 – Feminine Leadership:
“Someone who is a leader, with passion expressed from the heart, who trusts their feminine intuition. Has the ability to understand scientific and spiritual matters and explain to others, so that they may also understand. Is a very truthful person with qualities of integrity”.
Magenta reflects the great soul star – the energetic quality that activates when we have overcome the battle of personal ego within ourselves and can see a bigger picture with compassion and unconditional love, merged with service.
Olive Green expresses when we, as male or female in gender, embrace the feminine intuitive energy, listen to the whispers of the heart and find solutions to challenges with the energy of co-operation rather than competition. It is also the colour of inspired hope for the future, not in the sense of anticipation, but a positive attitude toward that which will come to be.
When we can see our ‘enemy’ reflected in ourselves, these two colours come together in love for humanity, compassionate empathy and the embodiment of Grace.
Nelson Mandela and his life’s work have contained these qualities, and I offer the thought that he has managed to bring the polarities together. I wish him a very blessed birthday, and the possibility that others may aspire to a fraction of his humanitarianism. His soul shines brightly from South Africa over the world, radiating all the colours of the rainbow, and through his tireless efforts of a lifetime the Rainbow Nation was born. May it yet become a Rainbow World.
Mandela Day information from SouthAfrica.info website.
Aura-Soma Bottles quoted information:
The Aura-Soma Handbook
Mike Booth
ISBN 1901232034
Printed in Germany / Leipzig
To see how you can make a difference, please visit SouthAfrica.info and MandelaDay.com.