Nelson Mandela’s Real Message

It has been said – “It is for those who know to show the blind horseman on the blind horse that he is heading towards the abyss…” (Lao Tzu 600 BC).

Only love is real. U2 are an Irish band who understand the desire for peace. Often the calls come louder from those who know what peace is not.

The song below is a tribute by U2 for Nelson Mandela, the words say it all.  The words were pointers to you that only love is the answer. For it to be the reality of this world, each one of us must choose it. That becomes the test when times get tough. That is humanity’s challenge and test right now.  It is time for truth telling and to face what we find difficult to deal with.  There are no mistakes in the world with the uprisings and whistleblowers, they are messengers indeed, just as Nelson has been, to remind all of us to face the emperor of our fears, instead of saying that this person/persons have power, to know they have no clothes. Each person has the power and it is universal. No one more powerful than another, we share this universal right, when we believe it. Nelson believed he had power which is why he said ‘no’ to apartheid, to the lie (myth) that white and black were unequal. Racism had to fall as it was an untruth. That is when he realised the emperor had no clothes, he stood up believing that the Afrikaans were not superior as they had suggested, they were ordinary men with ordinary love. What I loved about Nelson, like Gandhi, was that he sought to work with the perceived enemy as friends and help them to abandon a system that was clearly unfair and unjust. When you realise we are one you see no enemy that is why nonviolence becomes easy, you realise it is ignorance and mind control. Both parties are believing untruths about themselves and calling it real.

We are seeing increasingly more calls for accountability, for representation and for peace in the world. I am all for openness and disclosure. Government works for the people on their behalf, therefore the people have a right to know. I feel it is time.  Perhaps Nelson’s passing revives a desire for true representation, peacemaking, for love and for truth symbolised by the shaking of hands and embracing of each other.  That is my wish for humanity. 

In truth it was not Nelson Mandela that lived in a prison, it was most of us who felt unable to change our world.  We continued to do what we don’t love and we complained about it.  Yet few chose to stand up.  This message of love is really a call for people to get real and stand up for love.  It takes courage but you can only win your freedom when you believe you are free.  You can be free in a jail if you are in peace. We are indeed each other’s brothers and sisters.  When you start to see this you realise what you do to others you do to yourselves.  Some call this karma, others call it energy response or what goes around comes around. We are not separate islands, we are indeed interconnected and for some we see the other as ourselves. In truth their are no enemies just unquestioned thoughts, as each person believes the untruths and call them real. That is why some seek to control information and design truths for others to believe, until we start to find truth within, shine the lamp upon ourselves that is when wisdom surfaces. In my experience I have found that when I felt persecuted I looked into my own beliefs, I sought to transform my fear into love and indeed it worked. I found happiness.  

Can you ‘be love’ in the face of what you fear.  When you can be you realise there is nothing to fear, it dissolves for it is not real in the face of love. Do you understand that idea?  Fear is an acronym for false evidence appearing real.  Interesting thought to ponder.

I send you peace and be beautifully guilded by the lily of love.

My mother is on the phone to me now. She has recently joined a church with african people. She is telling me that the spirituality of these people is ‘awesome’. She loves the people and said the church is so happy and nice. She said they made her feel so welcome. Mum is just raving about them. Of course I know the beauty of African people as I met a wonderful woman in Bangkok who is a peace scholar from the Congo. She sought to stand up in her country and advocate for peace. She started a television program and started dialogue with the opposition militia, who were young men. She was inspired in Bangkok by my talk where I interviewed the audience and asked them what peace meant. She copied this and said she was getting results from the young people. However, she was not understood, or indeed the regime was not happy with her, and picked her up for interrogation. Her driver was shot at her house at the time and her mother escaped with her two children (who I don’t think she has seen since), they were only 3 and 5 year olds. She was very lucky that the policeman interviewing her knew her family and regarded her as a sister, as he was helped by her father. He called her by her childhood name, that is how she knew he knew her even though she didn’t recognise him. He helped her escape out of the country. Had she gone to interrogation she would not have lived. I found her the most spectacular person, full of heart and open. My friend was really honest and passionate. Last I heard of her she was seeking some sort of refugee protection in Thailand and was just finding it impossible to get help. Her situation characterises many African people seeking to leave their countries due to war and corruption, finding that they fall between the lines in respect of refugee protection. Thailand is not a signatuary to the 1951 Refugee Convention. So she falls between the gaps. That is why love is important and to see others as our sisters and brothers. I send love to her now.

I just shake my head at how Africa has been divided and plundered by exploitation of resources. So part of this message is a call for freedom for the African’s and peace across the world.

True beauty does not know itself

What is true beauty?
As my mind travels the world in search of this jewel,
What does it look like?
What does it feel like?
Does it shimmer and catch your eye?
Does it grow as you grow old?
Can you hear it caressing your soul?

Is beauty the wrapper or the sweetness within?
Is it the painting of perfection?
Is it the sketch of truth?
Is it the adoring love of the parent staring into those innocent eyes?
Is it the kindness of an old women in disguise?

For me it has no form,
It sings to me in the acts of love,
It shines on me in the eyes of my friend,
It comforts me in the warmth of understanding,
True beauty is without end.

True beauty does not know itself,
Do flowers marvel at their brilliant colours?
Do the mountains know their massive power?
Do the rivers feel their peacefulness murmuring?
Does a sunny day smile at its radiant warmth?
The colours do not know the painting,
For that is in the heart of the great artist,
There is only contrasting lights in this spectrum,
No colour is better or worse than any other,
Each a defining voice,
In the orchestra of perfection,
And the cast is invited,
By the grace of natural selection.

In truth my friend
…there is only beauty,
Universal beauty you cannot see,
When you close your eyes you can feel it,
It is the love that sets you free.