Invictus

I have always been so inspired by the strength and resilience of Nelson Mandela in his darkest days. Even through all the torture and repression of his life, he rose up and became a beckon of light to his country and the world. He changed our hearts and inspired us.

I had the incredible fortune of meeting him once at a private party in Bel Air about 12 years ago. I was one of several people hired to take care of him at a private function. Although I was one of the mere staff at the event, he made it a point to introduce himself and his daughter who accompanied him, to each and every one of us. He made it a point to remember our names. It was important to him. He looked me right in the eye and shook my hand sincerely. I will never forget it and it remains a highlight of my life. I guess when you have suffered as much as he did all those years, your value for life and it's inhabitants is so much deeper. I meant something to him in that moment; as a citizen of this world...connected.

I recently watched the movie Invictus and was so moved by it. The poem that kept him moving forward and never giving up while he was in prison for 27 years was Invictus by William Ernest Henley. I wanted to share it with you. It is a reminder that this world cannot oppress us. We must be the very best version of our self...The master of our fate; unafraid and convicted

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me

Black as the pit from pole to pole

I thank whatever God may be

For my unconquerable soul

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud

Under the bludgeoning of chance

My head is bloody but unbowed

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms the horror of the shade

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid

It matters not how straight the gate

How charged with punishments the scroll

I am the Master of my fate;

I am the Captain of my soul.