How should we remember Madiba?
It is hard to believe that South Africa, and the world, have had to go forward without the reassuring presence of Nelson Mandela for a whole year now. In remembering his life, his 27 years of sacrifice, his triumph of a free South Africa, it is also surely important to acknowledge, and live, by perhaps the greatest gift he gave humanity: his example. No one else can ever be Mandela, but we can each try to be like Mandela by simply biting back the next angry word; being patient when someone elderly and slow is in our path; giving up a bus seat; smiling at a passer-by instead of looking away; looking out for stray animals and taking them to the vet; not yelling at the next cold caller, who also needs to feed their family… or even just being a little kinder to the loved ones in our own lives. If we simply try to practice small acts of kindness, every day – maybe that is the best way to remember Madiba.