The Secret Power Of Gratitude

Copyright (c) 2013 Mphojane Leboko

Gratitude is something that all people have by birth. Our socialisation obscures and disconnects us from this powerful human trait. Still, it lies dormant somewhere in the deeper recesses of our being, until we become enlightened and let it come forth. When you give me a cup of tea, I will thank you for it. And when you ask after my health and those I love, such as my parents, children or other members of my family, I will also thank you for asking. Everybody does this. This is a good thing to do. However, gratitude is much deeper than thanking someone for giving you something or wishing you good health, for example. Gratitude is inborn. Even babies exhibit this trait without being shown.

In my country, South Africa, we are grateful to have been blessed by such a great soul as Madiba- Nelson Rolihlalha Mandela- "Dalibunga, the unbending iron, the iron that bends only in Qunu", ( the village where he will finally be rested ), as his aBathembu tribesmen praise him.

Just after he and many of his comrades were released from prison after being incacerated for twenty seven years in the dungeons of the infamous Robben Island, many of my white compatriots had grim forebodings of an impending civil war. It was not to be.

Madiba held out an olive branch to the white community and as a result, South Africa was ushered into a new rainbow nationhood, with little trouble, inspite of the fearful forebodings by the white community. For this we shall ever be grateful to this reconciling and wise man. Personally, I and those of my age lived in exile for a better part of our youthfulyears, ready to lay down our lives to remove the yoke of white rulers and their thousand inhumanities. We listened grudgingly to the pleas of Madiba. Mandela, the great forgiver and reconciler.

Perhaps it has to be remebered that had it not been for the understanding of the black community and their desire to live in peace with the white community as a part of the country, Madiba would not have been able to avoid a bloodbath and set a lasting moral example to many people around the world. He would not have been able to persuade us otherwise if we were bent on avenging ourselves for the inhuman treatment at the hands of the white people. Those whites who had kept quiet when the black people were mistreated, would also be equally guilty and not be spared the wrath of our intended revenge. We thank Madiba, for having asked us to choose a different path.

Gratitude is an inborn trait of the human spirit. That I have no doubt about in my mind. Considering the atrocious things the white government with the support of the majority of their white constituency visited upon the indeginous black inhabitants of my country, we as black people were still able to forgive them and hope and trust that together we could live as brothers and sisters in our beautiful country.

The sad part however is that there are still many white people who are not prepared to reciprocate the gesture of goodwill by the black community. Should there be any trouble resulting from sharing the wealth of our country equitably, then the white commuinity will have themselves to blame, for it is inconceivable that we shall have another Madiba to avoid us all slipping into the precipipe of a civil war. Not in the shot term. This is a frightful thought, considering the arrogant attitude of many members of the white community in South Africa.

Truth hurts. That truth is that many of my white countrymen are still not prepared to accord the black community the respect they deserve as human beings. To share with them the boundless resources of the country. To help alleviate the abject poverty black people still wallow in. They still exploit them mercilessly, insult them and generally regard them as second class citizens. To make matters worse, they are now abbetted by some immoral, corrupt and avaricious black people who are only ready to side with the whites in the pursuit of wealth.

They expect the black peole to say everything is allright. That the black people should emulate Madiba and not be bitter in the face of their cynical indifference.

The white people are living in unimaginable opulence and wealth - most of which they have gained unethically. They cannot dispute the historical facts of how they came to lead the opulent lifestyle they lead. This is the main bone of contention in South Africa. Until this burning issue is resolved, Madiba's efforts would have been fruitless. This is a tragic prospect, unless the white people truly thank Madiba for his outpouring of goodwill towards them.

I personally can only hope that the white people of my country will finally appreciate that Madiba was an embodiment of the spiritual attitude of the black people of South Africa. Otherwise Madiba could not have persuaded us to forgive the whites after all the inhumanities they visited upon us. Madiba may well be the end of the tether, nay of the patience of the black community. Now that Madiba is no more with us, it is time for the white community to stop and reflect. The man who defended them against the wrath of those in the black community who were ready to take to arms to redress the wrongs of the white government and their supporters, is no more.

I still hope that black people will still wait and not rush to do things that will bring this country to ruin. Strill, the truth of the matter is that it takes two to tango. The white community surely remembers that Madiba himself was jailed because he had taken to arms when his calls for reaching a peaceful settlement with the white rulers fell on deaf ears. Perhaps this time around, they will have no one to jail, to later forgive them and offer them an olive branch. We as the black community gave them Madiba as the embodiment of our patience.

We cannot be expected to be patient for eternity. We are human like everyone else, including the white people themselves. After all, it is the same white people who imported the Christian religion into our land. Perhaps if they could adhere to but only half of the precepts taught by their own religion, then we could make a headway.

Finally, let me thank those in the white community who are sensible, together with those in the black community who are still hopeful and ready to make our country work. To work together to change the hearts of those who do not want to change. I am grateful that we do have such people in my country. Maybe just.

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