However, today is even more auspicious on a global scale, as it commemorates the centenary of Nelson Mandela's birth.
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| Wire sculpture of Nelson Mandela taken with permission ~K. O'Connor~ |
His birthday on July 18 is marked annually around the world, and the Nelson Mandela Foundation called this year for people to "take action and inspire change" in Mandela's name. (Barack) Obama will set the tone for the celebrations with a speech in Johannesburg on July 17 that aides say will be his most important public address since leaving the White House in 2017. "It gives him an opportunity to lift up a message of tolerance, inclusivity and democracy at a time when there are obviously challenges to Mandela's legacy around the world," his aide Benjamin Rhodes told the New York Times.
Read the full article HERE.
Visit the Nelson Mandela Website.
To mark this special day, please share your thoughts in commentary or a poem inspired by the words of Madiba: ten of his most memorable quotes can be found HERE.
The 13-minute video documentary of Mandela's life has been provided by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which has given the UN permission to use it.
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Long Walk to Freedom
Happiest Anniversary, Toads!💞 I can't believe it's been three years since I have stepped foot in this beautiful place. A place which is now my home!
ReplyDeleteIt was here that I began my journey.. from the days of thee thy thou .. when I couldn't even phrase a sentence properly.. to present day where I along with many others share their poems today!💞
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
These aren't just words.. they are gold! Nelson Mandela is an inspiration to us all. May his wisdom light the days ahead and encourage me to do something worthy in life.
May I look back upon this day, and tell my children (and grandchildren) stories of how the garden and the lovely people here changed my life.💞
Cheers!🍷
Happy anniversary, Toads!
ReplyDeleteKerry, thanks so much for creating this space and keeping it going.
Sanaa, thank you for hosting the prompt.
Happy Anniversary fellow Toads. Thank you Kerry for creating this beautiful space so we can bring our poems here to nest. Thank you to all the Toads who have commented on my poems in the past.
ReplyDeleteThe words of Madiba? You lost me.
ReplyDeleteA HUGE thank you, Kerry, for your years of work guiding this site, keeping it inspiring, interesting, fun and supportive. I know the behind the scenes work is more than we realize and you do it so quietly and selflessly. I had already written a poem about Mandela for the prompt at PU. Not inspired by one of the quotes, but I will link it as my offering, as I am rather overloaded right now and wouldnt know what to say in a second poem. I hope that's all right. Happy Anniversary to all the Toads in the garden.
ReplyDeleteI see, Google tells me it's a clan name. Gotcha.
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary At the Garden! 🎉🎂🎇
ReplyDeleteTo Kerry, and all who help run this space - thank you.
The commitment to time and effort, for the inspiration, the new ideas, the creativity, the safe and friendly space to come together and celebrate writing, poeming - is a long road indeed. People come and go, pass through, linger, and stay. And it's rather rare to find such welcoming, all-accepting faces - but you've done it - making this a very global and rich place.
So thank you to all - hosts and fellow Toads and of course, travellers too.
And may the Garden continue to blossom for many years to come!
Cheers ~ 🍻
As for celebrating Madiba ~ Mandela was a remarkable person, like many others, (Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Stephen Biko etc.) there is much to be gleaned from his life - things to reflect on and consider, especially in our world now. Perhaps with some time, I might have words in honour of this celebration, so thanks for the prompt and all the links and info. Now, more than ever, it's important to stop, reflect - and see how we've faired, or strayed, from those who have walked such hard paths, for the cause and rights of so many others.
Not new, but I've reposted a pen from the day he died, nearly 5 years ago. Congratulations, Kerry, and all ~
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary, Toads! And thank you, Kerry, for inviting us all into the garden.
ReplyDeleteRemembering Nelson Mandela's date of birth also brought back memories of 1986, when I took my then six-year-old daughter to the 'Free Nelson Mandela' concert on Clapham Common. I was so m much younger then. But I still have the same ideals.
Wonderful, wonderful! This space and all of you mean so much to me.
ReplyDeleteLove, love always. M.
Many thanks to all who stopped by to share their thoughts about this space of ours. I can honestly say, I would not be the person I am today without the opportunities I have been given and the people I have met in the Imaginary Garden.
ReplyDeleteThank you also for considering the legacy of Nelson Mandela. I believe his voice rings true today and hopefully he will continue to inspire in time to come.
Well, I missed the day, TWO great anniversaries. I have always appreciated the Mandelas so very much, they gave sooo very much, years off their lives with prisons and all.
ReplyDeleteYou Toad Guys do sooo very much for us also in keeping the garden operating and well. As it is now already past and I wouldn't have time until tonight I will have to pass on the writing.
But I did see the Toad post a few minutes after it posted so my heart is with you all. Again, I really appreciate the garden, it's been a haven for me, a wannabe poem writer.
THANK YOU. And for you, Kerry for all the coordination you must do to keep the flowers blooming and the plants green and keeping the Toads and sojourners happy.
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I am so thankful for everyone I've met in the Garden. Each of you has taught me, inspired me, encouraged me the value of poetic expression. I am sharing a poem I wrote in 2013.
ReplyDeleteThe Garden is da coolest.
ReplyDeleteI just noticed that I thanked Sanaa for hosting the prompt. See? That's why one should read and reread when one is drunk on pain (and yes, by "we" I mean "me"). Bwahahaha!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kerry for the prompt. And you, too, Sanaa, for pointing it out (since I had missed it).
Am trying to put finishing touches on a poem I wrote - Will visit and comment here on Tuesday I think. Will also post to Tueday's Platform. I love the garden, I have been gifted with so many blessings from here... I thank and appreciate every one of you.
ReplyDelete