Last night, I heard that Nelson Mandela had died. I heard that "RIP Nelson Mandela" was trending world wide on the web. Words and deeds of this man that I have heard of before are sinking in more deeply and I am wanting to thank him personally for how he has contributed to and inspired me and my world.
This afternoon, I drew a heart shaped labyrinth on the beach and danced to her core, singing "thank you", "Hallelujah", "nkosi sikelele afrika", wishing him the deep dark peace of the African earth.
In searching for a way to pay tribute, I hope it is fitting that I begin my Rainbow Labyrinth Woman blog in his memory and dedicate this painting in gratitude to the father of the Rainbow Nation?
More than ever before, I am bowled over by how this man refused to become as full of hate and anger as his oppressors had been. It is only during the last month or two that I have realised how angry I have been for most of my life with a woman in my family who labelled him and his comrades "terrorists" and "communists" and "evil". I was dismayed to realise how like her I had become in my bitterness and anger. This woman was cruel to me but she did not imprison me for twenty odd years. In my upbringing "forgiving and forgetting" meant allowing the crimes to be repeated:
Re-membering by Bríd Wyldearth 2007
To forgive and forget is to allow injustice to be repeated.
Nobody learns from the experience
and the victim remains a victim.
Forgiveness is a process,
not an act of will.
It is impossible to forgive,
to give to the past
and move on from,
wounds that we cannot remember.
Amnesia is an illness,
not an accomplishment.
It is only when we forget how much we love our beautiful planet,
how much we depend on her for our very survival,
that we can poison,
rape
and destroy her.
It is only when we forget how much we love our beautiful children,
how much we depend on them for our very survival,
that we can poison,
rape
and destroy them.
It is only when we forget how much we love our beautiful selves,
how much we depend on ourselves for our very survival,
that we can poison,
rape
and destroy ourselves.
We must remember
and re-member,
reconnect with our severed limbs,
our disowned parts,
our humanity.
Thank you Madiba for showing me how to forgive and be determined that the atrocities never be repeated. You have allowed me to begin to reconcile with the word forgiveness.
"No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite" - the truth of this seems so obvious now but I grew up amongst people, some of whom I loved and some of whom said they loved me who did hate and fear "evil terrorists and communists" and seemed unable and unwilling to listen to an alternative perspective. It seemed to me as if they had been born hating and I did not dare hope that apartheid would end in my life time. As a child I was also confused because many of the people I knew who were full of this hatred and fear also espoused Christianity and a god who commanded them to love their neighbours. When I questioned them I was dismissed and silenced. In hindsight I wish I had had the courage to stand up more strongly for my beliefs and to be more optimistic. Thankfully Mandela and the ANC did have the courage of their convictions and risked their lives for freedom from oppression. I wish I had met Mandela.
What I can now do is try to contribute to a better world and I am currently doing so by painting a dream I had that the earth is a rainbow labyrinth, that we are all part of her, that our individual uniqueness is what we all have in common and that human hatred, fear and cruelty is irrelevant to her beauty.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you Nelson Mandela
Deep peace to you
Deep peace to you
Deep peace to you
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