It seems the death of MANDELA was very well timed...because at the end of the mourning period we have a time to reflect on his central teaching in his life... FORGIVENESS & RECONCILIATION - so in this theme we at City of Heart will be holding a conference next year here in South Africa. The place is still to be determined but it looks like it will either be in Cape Town- Durban or Johannnesburg. Currently we are establishing our headquarters in Johannesburg as we believe is Africa's business hub and logistically the stronges place to set up.Johnanesburg also has a long history of evolution and has a good infrastucture.
We have just purchased a property for this use and after the holdidays we will be doing much work in earnest to produce our online newspaper and hard copy. We have already registered the company and it will be working hand in hand with the Africa Unite Movement. As part of our outreach into Africa we have also aquired an 8 tonne truck which will be used to deliver AID or goods to trade in our bush camp yet to be established in Livingstone.With the elections in 2014, it will be an extremely busy year for us...I have No doubt in my mind that this country needs more HOPE...it needs more light and more people believing in what the rest of the world thinks is impossible. This subject of reconciliation I will discuss further in another post as my mandate is to stand up for the blood of the martyrs of this countryy of all nations and minorities... the struggle for freedom is not over yet... as long as there is inequality , domination and injustice ...the struggle , the journey must continue.
So here is my thoughts on reconciliation:
I have found in peace mediation that the bigger person always reaches
out ...and by doing so doesn’t count the other parties wrong. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…The problem is when we think we are perfect...the only way to find a balance is to realize we are all less than perfect... and the road to
restoration begins with forgiveness- and reconciliation For Corrie ten Boom it was forgiving the Nazi guard that killed her sister… she said by being obedient to Gods voice and encouragement she was able to eventually let go of that stored up hurt and hatred. For me…when I forgave my ex wife for falsely imprisoning me…it was a conscious decision… she then no longer controlled my thoughts and my mind which is the worst form of violence there is.
Forgiveness and Reconciliation is a choice -an active decision. Yesterday was our country’s Day of Reconciliation... if I tell you how much wrong happened in the
apartheid era you will understand that it isn’t easy to forgive
sometimes...those that have wronged you... there is always a process
of forgiveness... where the anger is transformed and channeled into
something positive...for anger is an energy...the only emotion that is
dangerous to forgiveness and reconciliation is indifference and apathy.
IF NO ONE CARES NO ONE DARES!... and even if it looks like you are
being the weak one by extending your hand to the other offending
party....that is the first step... even if the other party is the
vilest of human beings.... I have seen the power of forgiveness...but
when I tried to practice it from my mind it was never true
forgiveness...one has to put the mind into the heart ...always…!
We have just purchased a property for this use and after the holdidays we will be doing much work in earnest to produce our online newspaper and hard copy. We have already registered the company and it will be working hand in hand with the Africa Unite Movement. As part of our outreach into Africa we have also aquired an 8 tonne truck which will be used to deliver AID or goods to trade in our bush camp yet to be established in Livingstone.With the elections in 2014, it will be an extremely busy year for us...I have No doubt in my mind that this country needs more HOPE...it needs more light and more people believing in what the rest of the world thinks is impossible. This subject of reconciliation I will discuss further in another post as my mandate is to stand up for the blood of the martyrs of this countryy of all nations and minorities... the struggle for freedom is not over yet... as long as there is inequality , domination and injustice ...the struggle , the journey must continue.
So here is my thoughts on reconciliation:
What
does Reconciliation mean to you?
What does reconciliation mean to
you?
It means to me a change of mind and mindset.
We are faced with choices all the
time. We can take
advantage of our free will and give something of ourselves...lose
something of ourselves in making that decision...but what do we keep
if we don’t ? our ego is all….our false pride.
advantage of our free will and give something of ourselves...lose
something of ourselves in making that decision...but what do we keep
if we don’t ? our ego is all….our false pride.
Human conflict always starts with the ego and
ends with the ego...
the path to war begins with the false
ego and the path to peace begins with the true ego ...and what is that? it is the
willingness to grow.
To let go of our fears and grow in
the
experience of living love...unconditional love... in this place you
lose nothing...it is the place of forgiveness... by holding onto our
bitterness and sense of being wronged the only person we harm in the end
is ourselves... this doesn’t mean that we cant fight for a righteous
cause...we can...but the individual will of a person can make that
change if he or she wants to. Finding that common ground is the hard part.
experience of living love...unconditional love... in this place you
lose nothing...it is the place of forgiveness... by holding onto our
bitterness and sense of being wronged the only person we harm in the end
is ourselves... this doesn’t mean that we cant fight for a righteous
cause...we can...but the individual will of a person can make that
change if he or she wants to. Finding that common ground is the hard part.
I have found in peace mediation that the bigger person always reaches
out ...and by doing so doesn’t count the other parties wrong. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…The problem is when we think we are perfect...the only way to find a balance is to realize we are all less than perfect... and the road to
restoration begins with forgiveness- and reconciliation For Corrie ten Boom it was forgiving the Nazi guard that killed her sister… she said by being obedient to Gods voice and encouragement she was able to eventually let go of that stored up hurt and hatred. For me…when I forgave my ex wife for falsely imprisoning me…it was a conscious decision… she then no longer controlled my thoughts and my mind which is the worst form of violence there is.
She was rooted out of my heart once
and for all…and now I am free of her legacy. But it takes time. The other
biggest obstacle in the road to reconciliation is reaching empathy and
understanding for the other party…its so easy to be engrossed in the way you
feel and think… and even if you are totally innocent… there is always a degree
of responsibility you can take for whatever happened. But more than this… it is
by UNDERSTANDING that we reach that decision to change the mind… often we don’t
want to understand…and again…most of this is the false ego talking…
Forgiveness and Reconciliation is a choice -an active decision. Yesterday was our country’s Day of Reconciliation... if I tell you how much wrong happened in the
apartheid era you will understand that it isn’t easy to forgive
sometimes...those that have wronged you... there is always a process
of forgiveness... where the anger is transformed and channeled into
something positive...for anger is an energy...the only emotion that is
dangerous to forgiveness and reconciliation is indifference and apathy.
IF NO ONE CARES NO ONE DARES!... and even if it looks like you are
being the weak one by extending your hand to the other offending
party....that is the first step... even if the other party is the
vilest of human beings.... I have seen the power of forgiveness...but
when I tried to practice it from my mind it was never true
forgiveness...one has to put the mind into the heart ...always…!
During our country’s Truth & Reconciliation
period which went on for around 6 years… so many stories were told that if
Westerners were to hear would say to themselves…” how could they do that?” How
could they forgive?...” The truth is…only with the GRACE OF GOD… nothing
else..we are still a nation who believes in God…you cannot do it on your own strength.
I myself have sat in on those sessions which Bishop Desmond Tutu presided over…and
I wept when I heard one story of a husband taken in the middle of the night to John
Vorster square…who never returned… it was a powerful story… and what’s more
bringing the oppressed and the oppressor together with the guarantee of amnesty
was half the battle won… why? Because people more than anything wanted to know
what happened to their loved ones….and why… it was a closure which healed so
many wounds…
Perhaps the best example we can look at here is not Mandela- although he
did actively forgive his oppressors... even having tea with the wife of
the architect of apartheid...it is Jesus ... on the cross Jesus said:
"forgive them for they know not what they do."
Will you make the change ...?-BE the change and forgive others ...today?
Or will you hold your anger in your heart? Will you take it to the grave?
I prefer to try to let go of this anger and convert it into something
creative...the deepest wounds are those of the human heart..not of material things..for they come and go… it isn’t even a perceived indignity… the worst pain is the violation of the human heart… but even that can be healed with time and a positive mindset.
So I actively today my fellow Africans keep writing to you to seek reconciliation with each other…it is the first step to justice , true justice and restoration…without it…we can never be truly healed from those who have wronged us…
Perhaps the best example we can look at here is not Mandela- although he
did actively forgive his oppressors... even having tea with the wife of
the architect of apartheid...it is Jesus ... on the cross Jesus said:
"forgive them for they know not what they do."
Will you make the change ...?-BE the change and forgive others ...today?
Or will you hold your anger in your heart? Will you take it to the grave?
I prefer to try to let go of this anger and convert it into something
creative...the deepest wounds are those of the human heart..not of material things..for they come and go… it isn’t even a perceived indignity… the worst pain is the violation of the human heart… but even that can be healed with time and a positive mindset.
So I actively today my fellow Africans keep writing to you to seek reconciliation with each other…it is the first step to justice , true justice and restoration…without it…we can never be truly healed from those who have wronged us…
But remember we cannot force the
horses to dink..even if we lead them to the water… we have to wait until they
get thirsty…and life makes us thirsty…
I will not stop trying because I see that
hearts of stone cannot forgive...and as
they judge so too shall they be judged...at the end of the day…it is their loss and they will live in the mental prison they have created for themselves…they will never be free from it.
And this is why we in South Africa have a day of reconciliation...to
remind us that we have the power to change our minds at any moment and
so seek out our greatness...seek out the face of God and shine for all the world to see…free at last! I thank you,
Robin Denton
they judge so too shall they be judged...at the end of the day…it is their loss and they will live in the mental prison they have created for themselves…they will never be free from it.
And this is why we in South Africa have a day of reconciliation...to
remind us that we have the power to change our minds at any moment and
so seek out our greatness...seek out the face of God and shine for all the world to see…free at last! I thank you,
Robin Denton
No comments:
Post a Comment