Tag Archives: Mandela Day

RIP Gugu Zulu

20 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by in Advice, Life journey, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Quiet and slow, Stress

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I am so devastated by the death of Gugu Zulu – a great racing car driver but more importantly, a great person.  A man who lived large.
He died while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for a good cause on Mandela Day.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH5nOWfg13O/?taken-by=guguzulu

If nothing else, what we should gain from his death is that we have absolutely no idea what tomorrow is going to bring.
One minute we are here, the next minute, we are not.
One day we are amazingly successful, the next, we may have lost everything.

So the question is:
If the only thing we know is right now, then why are we spending right now worrying about what might happen tomorrow?
Why do lead such stressful lives without ever slowing down to enjoy the small things (and the big things)?
There is a huge industry that is making money off our stress by supplying every supplement and energy booster you can think of when we should be boosting our own energy levels through slowing down, better eating, exercise and having a better attitude towards life.
We should be building resilience towards stress rather than just wishing it away (while downing another cup of coffee to keep us going).
Our lives should be worth so much more than the value that we give attribute to them.

So, next time you say “I don’t want to be stressed” you should do something about it!
Make today count!

Kindness on Mandela Day

15 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Attitude, Positivity, Projects

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This week is the late Nelson Mandela’s birthday and his birthday has become Mandela Day – a day for giving back.
http://www.mandeladay.com/
In honour of such a great man, we commit time to serve our community in his memory.
I love random acts of kindness given to unsuspecting strangers and I will definitely be doing some of that on Mandela Day.
I will also be joining in a sandwich making mission – the aim is to make 67 000 sandwiches to feed and nourish the hungry.
Please use the opportunity (even if you are not South African) to donate some time, money or skill to somebody or an organisation that really needs it.

I love Mandela Day because of the wonderful spirit of kindness, care and positivity that surrounds us for a day.
But I definitely don’t think that we should wait for one day a year to be kind.
Even more importantly, I don’t think that we should be spreading kindness, or expecting kindness from others, until we learn to be kind to ourselves.

Thanks to Brave Girls Club for this:
I want to remember that I must be the example to others of how I want to be treated… meaning that if I want to be treated with kindness and respect, I must treat myself with kindness and respect.  If I want to be treated with love and patience, I must treat myself with love and patience.  I teach other people how to treat me.

Mandela really believed in forgiveness – so please forgive yourself.  Be kind and gentle to yourself.  Respect yourself.
Stop waiting for, and having huge expectations that somebody is going to change the way that they treat you so that you can be happier.
The only person responsible for your happiness is you.
Take that responsibility today!
You never know how great you can become!

be kind 2

Thoughts on Mandela Day

18 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by in Attitude, Gratitude, Positivity, Projects

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What can I say about this week?
I have to say that I was really battling to come up with something to write because it’s been an awful week filled with war, violence and hatred.

But since today is Mandela’s birthday and we celebrate a man who left a legacy of caring and giving, it is a great opportunity to choose today to be the day that we start with a new attitude towards all the horrible things in the world and find something positive to focus on.

The directive in South Africa is for everybody to try to donate 67 minutes of their time to a charity or help out in your community.
It brings an incredible spirit of togetherness and community for the givers as well as the receivers involved.
Following the events of the week, I would love to suggest the following:
Even if you cannot give anything close to 67 minutes, my challenge to you is to spend some time talking to somebody who has a different opinion to you or someone from a different background or culture.  Not to fight or argue, but just to understand.
Or spend some time just showing somebody that you care about them.
And most importantly, because this is the I don’t want to be stressed blog – spend some time doing something to help yourself too!
I think this is a time when we really have to realise how blessed we are.
For every morning that you wake up and your life is not in danger, you are blessed.
For every opportunity that is presented to you, no matter how stressful it is, you are blessed.
Every time you arrive at your destination safely, you are blessed.

Times are definitely more stressful these days.  Even if you are not living in a dangerous situation, our lives are more stressful than ever.
So it is up to us to make the most of what we’ve got.
We need to find beauty in the everyday.
We need to celebrate what we’ve got rather than mourn for what we wish that we could have.
Enjoy the small things, celebrate tiny achievements.
Laugh, sing and dance!
Spend time with people who love and appreciate you.
Do something that makes you happy.
Give some of your time to make other people smile.

Let us make this our mission in honour of Mandela’s memory.