Happy Birthday Madiba.

Durban Daily Photo's wish to Nelson Mandela on your 90th birthday:

To emulate someone is the highest honor to bestow on a person.  So today, for Madiba my wish is that each and every person in our country, from our President all the way down to the man in the street, finds a way to follow your lead, and that our country transforms itself into the vision you have for us.

Over the past few weeks, there have been many interviews with people from Mandela's past, relating memorable incidents.  The one which highlights his greatness the most for me goes as follows...
When the three people arrived for a meeting at Mandela's home, he welcomed them and said they should sit down. Two of the people sat on a two seater couch, and the third person remained standing, waiting for Mandela to take his seat.  Mandela asked him why he doesn't sit.  The visitor said he was waiting for Mandela to sit, to ensure he didn't take Mandela's chair, to which Mandela replied that this is the problem with Africa.  Once in a seat they refuse to move out of it.

This to me is profound at every level.  It's not just a problem with African people, but people all over the world.

In order to progress in life one has to keep moving around, and looking at everything from different angles.  If you only ever sit in one spot, you only ever have one view of the world, and you put yourself in the uneviable position of having to defend this space.  By chainging seats you have a very rich and rewarding experience of life.  This seat can be your office chair at work, your easy chair in front of the tv at home, or the seat on the bus.

Each day, try sitting in a different seat and see how your life changes.

Today's picture is the heart in the sky from the Virginia airshow, for Skywatch Friday.