Well, it's Friday, if you're keeping track, and despite rays of light and moments of hope, it's been a tough week for the world. I've been stumbling about online trying to find inspiration for a blog post that would "deepen the argument for being alive" (2020/02/deepen-argument) and bumped into a post from the Harvard Radcliffe College Class of 93 page that might fit the bill.*
The post consists of a black and white photo of Nelson Mandela, clothed in a white prisoner's uniform and staring out between the bars of his prison-room window. The expression on his face is somber, his unused smile lines sinking down toward his low jaw. The words below the photo, only this:
"In isolation for 27 years. No family, luxuries, phone. Just hope and a vision. We can do this."
Can we hold fast to the tightrope of hope and build a vision for a better world? Mandela did both for 27 years of imprisonment, a mortal who transcended human needs and limits to emerge as a brilliant light, his glow not dimmed but refined by his time of waiting. Just hope and a vision. We can do this.
* Thanks to Damon K. Roberts for the post and inspiration.
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