Samhain Winter Moon
Mandela. King. An American and an African. Different, so different in background, but similar in their life work and impact. No, not the same path, at least not at first, but similar in the end. Leading with an open heart, an organizer’s toughness, an idealist’s hope and the clarity of true seers. One assassinated in the land of the free and the home of the brave, the other dead of old age in the land of apartheid.
(I was not born with a hunger to be free; I was born free. Nelson Mandela)
Both, it turns out, were human. As should be known from the beginning since no one descends from the womb into this life a virtuous person. Neither, it turns out, will be forgotten. As it should be. We need men and women who teach us about the possibilities for those of us with flaws, with dreams, with passions for justice.
MLK got a national holiday. It would be a stunning gesture to give Mandela a national holiday here, too, wouldn’t it? Say on Juneteenth, balancing King’s winter with Mandela’s summer. So, from this day forward, Ancientrails will celebrate June 19 as Nelson Mandela day. Maybe others will, too.
