I'm still praying he pulls through. Such a magnanimous soul!

I don't think it's sad that he will soon pass away, he is - after all - 94 years old (which is a good innings by any standard, especially considering his turbulent life - I think it's time to let the man go) and at least got to spend his remaining years with his family. If anything is sad it's that he had to wait so long and sacrifice so much to have that opportunity.

ShreddySmurf wrote:I don't think it's sad that he will soon pass away, he is - after all - 94 years old (which is a good innings by any standard, especially considering his turbulent life - I think it's time to let the man go) and at least got to spend his remaining years with his family. If anything is sad it's that he had to wait so long and sacrifice so much to have that opportunity.

Yup. Exactly. Death is a part of life. It's only sad when it's premature. Hopefully there'll be space for another person capable of changing so much to come and help humanity.

He shook my daughter's hand when she was 5.

Mike wrote:

ShreddySmurf wrote:I don't think it's sad that he will soon pass away, he is - after all - 94 years old (which is a good innings by any standard, especially considering his turbulent life - I think it's time to let the man go) and at least got to spend his remaining years with his family. If anything is sad it's that he had to wait so long and sacrifice so much to have that opportunity.

Yup. Exactly. Death is a part of life. It's only sad when it's premature. Hopefully there'll be space for another person capable of changing so much to come and help humanity.

If history has taught me anything it's that people like him are incredibly rare and death is not a part of life, it's the opposite of life.

studmissile wrote:If history has taught me anything it's that people like him are incredibly rare and death is not a part of life, it's the opposite of life.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/life

Perhaps a better term would be human existance or being?

If history has taught me anything, it is that humanity goes through cycles. Things were in turmoil a few decades back and have been quite calm since. Either things are going to get calmer or we're going to need another person capable of inspiring a nation.

Whoa! This thread went existential in 4 posts flat. That must be some kind of record.

It's sad,but I think his legacy will always live on regardless. That kinda makes him semi-immortal...

Yeah following the news it's hard not to get a little caught up. I think its so sad, but as someone said, he's 94 and 20 odd years of that was in prison, so he's had a good run. I can't help but think that once Obama has left SA, the family will decide to end it, as it's pretty clear that he's on life support.

The term greatness should be used with extreme caution...Ghandi, mother Theresa are in that echelon in my humble opinion.....

IceCreamMan wrote: The term greatness should be used with extreme caution...Ghandi, mother Theresa are in that echelon in my humble opinion.....

Mandela is 100% up there with the greatest of us all.

Not a picture but a lesson learnt;
I was part of a council that oversaw the running of a church once. We did a course on the matter and the guy made a statement, "Don't ask what you can do to them to get them to do what you want them to do, ask what you can do to yourself to get them to do it." (I know it sounds manipulative but it really wasn't intended THAT way :-[ You get the gist)
I was reading about Mandela's prison time, and the change in his approach inside embodied the above statement. Before the struggle was trying to do stuff to the govt/people. He then did something to himself, in terms of the change in aproach to learn more about the enemy instead of butting heads all the time.

Other people who embodied this are the likes of Ghandi who focused more on humbling himself than forcing others to listen.

So the next time I wanted someone to do something for me, even a waiter in a restaurant, I took the time to learn even something small about them. Then I utilised that knowledge to form a bond, even a small one. Suddenly you have a mate organising you extra foam on your cappucino...

So, I don't know how accurate these reports are, but there is suggestion that Mandella's condition worsened last night, and so they switched off life support... He died shortly after.

Again, I don't know how true these reports are, but they are apparently from a reliable source. Be interesting to see if it will be reported on the news at 1pm, or if its being kept extra hush hush until Obama has left?

It is indeed a sad day for South Africa, and I just hope that those left in positions of power will learn from the past, and move this country in the direction Madiba had aimed for?!

Regards
G

No I think that's just speculation, last I heard is that he is on life support and a 'stable' condition that comes from being on one.

Its funny I've read biographies on both Ghandi and Mother Teresa, they were absolute 'real' people with very human flaws, (that most are unaware of or aren't interested in knowing) it's their actions for the betterment of humanity that made them Great Souls! Mr Mandela included! IMHO!

studmissile wrote: Its funny I've read biographies on both Ghandi and Mother Teresa, they were absolute 'real' people with very human flaws, (that most are unaware of or aren't interested in knowing) it's their actions for the betterment of humanity that made them Great Souls! Mr Mandela included! IMHO!

+1

opinion, but... if anything, i think the obamachine would reshuffle around madiba's plans, rather than the opposite.

back on the topic. my favourite 'picture' of mandela is the '95 world cup final. the meet 'n greet before, the handing over of the cup, the way he held himself, presented the face of a 'new' south africa to the world. can't say i'm 100% convinced of the accuracy of the story behind the movie 'invictus', but this is a man with vision, and i can easily believe he had a hand to play in how the springboks looked to unite south africans behind the team.

a man with vision. from anti-apartheid 'activist', to president, to nobel peace-prize winner, i believe it was vision, extraordinary empathy (that 'bond' don was talking about), and sheer determination to get the job done in the most inclusive and consultative way possible that combines to make mandela who he is.

SMILE FOUNDATION

http://www.smilefoundationsa.org/

One child, one letter and one phone call gave birth to The Smile Foundation 13 years ago.

Formed in 2000 as The Smile Fund after a personal request from Mr Nelson Mandela to help Thando Manyathi smile, to date more than 1000 childrens’ lives have been changed.

Tata asked the Lubner Family to help him secure surgery for a young child suffering from a rare medical condition causing facial nerve paralysis (known as Moebius Syndrome). Thabile Malambo Manyathi relentlessly wrote letters monthly to Nelson Mandela appealing for assistance to help her child Thando go overseas to have a highly specialized procedure known as Facial Reanimation surgery, which would correct the Facial Paralysis with which she was born. As fate would have it, Thabile’s desperate plea found its way into Madiba’s personal pile of letters, and without a second thought he made the call.

The Lubner Family inspired by Thando saw the bigger picture. There was no sustainability in sending one child overseas, so why not bring the skills home? With that Dr Ron Zucker and Dr Craig Van Der Kolk were invited to South Africa to transfer the skills of this technique to South Africa.

A surgeon George Psaras, then Head of Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Witwatersrand was the first surgeon in the country to learn this very specialized skill. The Independent Newspaper group joined forces and the Star Smile Fund was born.

In 2007 the Smile Fund’s growth necessitated the organization’s establishment as a Section 21, and the re-launch as The Smile Foundation.

In 2013 the Smile Foundation is a non-profit organization that together with the country’s Academic Hospitals, highly skilled doctors and tenacious nurses – literally put smiles on the faces of hundreds of children around the country on an annual basis.

Providing Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for children living with facial conditions the Smile Foundation offers a holistic approach to Ubuntu. This includes investing in the infrastructure of the public healthcare system through academic skills development for medical personnel, funding of equipment utilized by the Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and assisting each child with pre and post-surgical care to transform the lives of these children who are often ostracized living with their facial conditions.
The Smile Foundation is the consequence of Mr Nelson Mandela’s belief and passion for children, that together anything can be achieved – any life can be changed.