Madiba

1918-2013. Madiba.

(Photo: His last public appearance at the SA World Cup.)

The tallest tree has fallen and it is reverberating around the world. 

Today in South Africa and around the world people are saddened to the core about the loss of Nelson Mandela. A leader like no other. 

Today, in a world where we long for genuine leaders and role models, Mandela’s passing is felt deeply.  

95 years old. 27 of his years in prison. And yet he emerged with an open heart, open mind.

Mandela said ‘A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.’ He had both.

Humble. Inspiring. Courageous. Extraordinary.

A man of dignity.

‘The greatest son of our soil.’ 

After 27 years in prison Mandela did the unthinkable, he forgave, he reconciled, he broke bread with the ‘enemy’ and he brought South Africa together as one nation. He did what leaders should do, he put the people and the country first. He embraced leadership as a service to the people, all people.

This morning people are sharing stories, memories. His former body guard recalled walking onto the rugby field in 1995 with Mandela and hearing the rugby fans (98% white people) chanting ‘Nelson, Nelson…’ He remembered standing on the field with Mandela, listening to the chanting in shock, awe. Absolutely unthinkable, Mandela defied all norms.

“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” – Mandela.

“It’s very difficult to accept that he will no longer be around,” said George Bizos, a dear friend of Mandela and a human rights attorney. “He will go down in history forever as the one person who set an example that fundamental differences between people can be solved without violence.”

“He transcended race and class in his personal actions, through his warmth and through his willingness to listen and to empathize with others,” Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu said. “And he restored others’ faith in Africa and Africans.”

"He stood for something very simple, which was for equality and fairness," said David James Smith, author of "Young Mandela: The Revolutionary Years"

“During my lifetime, I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for. But, my lord, if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." --Mandela. April 1964, statement from the dock at the opening of his defense case in the Rivonia trial

“The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." –Mandela.

It is now upon all of us, every one of us, to ensure his legacy lives forever and to continue his life’s work of making this world a better place for all. 

Lion

Dusk in the bush. The air is cooling as the sun sets. The golden grass has a shimmer of orange from the sun. We drive slowly scanning, looking, hoping to catch a glimpse of a predator. This is the best time to be on safari, dusk. The air is quiet and we watch, hoping for movement. I lean back in the vehicle, appreciating the silence, the smells, the air against my face. Alive. 

We turn a corner on a dirt path and see a pride of lions. They sit on the path, watching, lounging. There are eight of them, including a large female and some young males. We park the vehicle, engine off and watch. A dove calls--the classic sound of African. The young male lions get up, poke around in the tall grass and return to the road. The grass is so high, that the lions come back to the road for easier hunting. We watch the female, a gorgeous lion, strong, tawny in color. It's the paws and the eyes of the lion that always amaze me, paws enormous and eyes a piercing yellow. 

The young males move into the bush, we pay no notice enjoying the view of the female. Suddenly, the female stands up and looks sharply to the trees, where the males have gone. She is intensely focused. Her muscles tense and bulging, an incredible creature. She moves slowly towards the trees. Stops. Then suddenly she starts running away from the trees, the opposite direction from where the males went. Immediately thereafter, the bush explodes with dust, hooves, noise, movement, wildebeest, running like rockets through the trees being chased by the young male lions who are focused and fast. A flurry of activity. 

With perfection they chase one of the wildebeest precisely towards the crouched and waiting female lion who nails the wildebeest instantly, pouncing out of the grass in total surprise to the wildebeest. All the lions circle and pounce on the wildebeest. More wildebeest run by and the female leaves the one she has just taken down and starts running after the others. Some of the lions chase after her, while the other lions wait with the maimed wildebeest, paws pressed on it, assuring it will not get away, while watching the other chase. Some of the males return to the wildebeest, five of them on the animal, trying to kill it. With each breath the  wildebeest lets out a cry that sounds like a failing horn. It's a cry I have heard before at the great wildebeest migration crossing in Kenya. There, dozens of wildebeest crying as they try to cross the river without getting killed by crocs. Here the wildebeest cries as the lions try to kill her. It's a good couple of minutes and agonizing hearing the crying wildebeest and watching his legs flail in the air. The young male lions chew on him, paw at him, but do not kill him. 

The female returns from her other chase, cuts right through the males and bites the neck of the wildebeest, eventually ending his life. After that we watch in the dim light as the lions feast on the wildebeest. Tearing through the skin with their sharp teeth, licking the blood and devouring the meat. The sound of lions eating in inexplicable, growls, grunts and roars. Nudging each other out of the way to get a better angle, its an awesome sight. We leave them to their evening meal and make our way back in the dark to the lodge in awe. 

How the pride orchestrated the kill, perfectly funneling the prey to the female, without, at least to our knowledge, any communication, is mind boggling. An awesome glimpse into the intricacies of the natural world. We were incredibly lucky to see the kill, despite the images of Disney channel and National Geographic, seeing a kill is rare. It's a brutal, yet awesome cycle of life.