All you need is a little light

Light as we know it is visible to the human eye, but there also is a certain little light that no one sees. A miraculous lamp that flickers in the windiest of storms. Nudging and urging us to ignore our ‘now’ for a desired ‘then’. Most importantly, it cannot be snatched from someone with vision. One man used this to his benefit to become the icon he is today. His name means “troublemaker” but he ended lots of trouble. He has become a shining beacon of peace across the world, becoming a recipient of the respected Nobel Peace Prize. A symbol of freedom and equality in the Rainbow Nation is he. This, against a backdrop of hate, discrimination and a dark past. Reconciliation, unification and negotiation are words he lives by, hence multi-racial democracy and unity have become possible. Ideals of democracy, free society and equal opportunity, have become real and alive in his lifetime up to this day. The little light within him has been the source of his existence. It has been the tower of strength, hope and lasting aspiration. Years of incarceration, isolation, pain and scarring of the heart, could not dim this glimmering light within his innermost, but in fact, led him to push and explore his mental boundaries. Against all odds, he persevered and rose from the jaws of death. The little light inside him burst out and now reaches to the world spreading like a veld fire this light touches and penetrates hearts. All this from a little light and there has been no difference whether his freedom be denied or granted, he lives with dignity. Umtata to the world, he reaches out, inspires and unites generations. All you need is a little light and the walls around you disappear. Walls of anger, hate, adversity, a dark history, race or gender. They all crumble around you when your light is alight in you. All you need is a little light and you, me, the world, is one.