YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Tata Madiba

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Tata Madiba https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:30:43 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php Anonymous on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-968046 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 04:26:58 +0000 Anonymous 968046@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Wow that is a great quote Velvety! velvetychocolate on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-967426 Sun, 30 Jun 2013 02:50:17 +0000 velvetychocolate 967426@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ One of my favourite quotes: For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others ~ Nelson Mandela I've put that on my fridge (as of last week) where I'll see it every day. I might even print a copy to keep in my wallet. Just love that quote - so, so true. It's not just a matter of being set free, but it's also about what you do once you're free. I don't think there is anyone more important or more inspirational than Nelson Mandela in my lifetime. I feel lucky and honoured to be part of this era, thanks to him. Isabel on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-967295 Sat, 29 Jun 2013 22:59:08 +0000 Isabel 967295@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I cannot understand the feeling if South Africa now. But I too keep hoping that he will somehow recover and go on. It is almost incomprehensible that anything could stop him.  It is the waiting for the passing of a sacred soul. I remember the first time he came to Boston after being released from jail.  It was unbelievable. The whole city and everything around it practically came to a standstill.  You could feel it in the air.  I can feel it in the air now, too.    Caro in Oz on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964523 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 23:55:27 +0000 Caro in Oz 964523@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I think he is very special, a giant of a man. We have so few "elders" or positive roles models in our society he will be sorely missed. biscuitsmom on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964425 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 20:03:59 +0000 biscuitsmom 964425@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Amen, he will be missed by so many, even those who wont be directly impacted by his passing. We were blessed to have known of him. Angie on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964384 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 18:53:08 +0000 Angie 964384@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ The collective anxiousness in SA is understandable. Madiba's spirit surrounds you in an incomparable way - I can't explain these emotions either. He will go down as the most courageous and unforgettable man in history. My favourite visuals of him are when he's surrounded by children - he LOVES children - wearing one of his famous buttoned-up Madiba shirts smiling his incredible smile. He is a statuesque man who is imprinted in your memory forever. I'm glad he waved at you, Hil. xo rachylou on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964329 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 17:41:23 +0000 rachylou 964329@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ It's strange to think, looking back growing up in Berkeley CA, how Nelson Mandela was such a presence the whole time. The tiny town of Berkeley, you know, thinks somewhat globally and Mandela's face was on a poster on every corner. Many rallies. He was absolutely mythic in that time. Then there was a moment when he was released where, I think, people hesitated a moment to see if he was mythic or not, or if it would fail him... but he was once again. This is like another of those moments. catherine on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964178 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 13:46:56 +0000 catherine 964178@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Mr. Mandela's passing will leave a hole in the world; it may never again be filled.  It must be so difficult for you.  He has seen it all and has earned peace. I wonder if we can live without him. Hil on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964166 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 13:35:24 +0000 Hil 964166@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Another aspect to this anxiousness we are all feeling is that SA is fairly tumultuous in terms of our politics. I think there is a feeling Madiba's presence has always kept our country in check since 1994. I wonder if his inevitable passing is leaving SA feeling like a child wondering if they can manage without their parental figure.... I think that ties in with Ornella's comment about questioning ourselves if we don't want to let go.  Archer on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964155 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 13:19:46 +0000 Archer 964155@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Hill you painted the atmosphere so well. I can't imagine how it feels so SAs. I am thinking that he is perhaps the most significant death of decades, in terms of his reach and we have perhaps come to see him as immortal and in a way he is. (Sniff) Suz on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964145 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 13:02:12 +0000 Suz 964145@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Like Krista, we've been following the news. I like your point about collective anxiousness, Hil -- such an interesting observation. When he goes, it will mark the passing of an era, and such an important transition in your country's history. And to think how long he has lived -- almost a century. It is awe-inspiring. I agree with Krista -- we long for the qualities he represents in our leaders, and so rarely do we see them.  Krista on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964078 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 11:04:06 +0000 Krista 964078@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Hil, thanks for this post! I, too, have been following the news about Nelson Mandela's health all the way from Canada; it's front page news here (well, in my city at least!).  I think your point about collective anxiousness is interesting because I think it could be argued it is being felt all over the world.    I'm emotional just thinking about his failing health and I, unlike yourself and Ornella, have never had the opportunity to see him in person.  I think it is that he espouses so many qualities that are needed in our world today and many people look to him as an example for what they aspire to be. As Ornella pointed out - Who will we, as a world, look to if he passes? I mean, it sounds silly to ask such a question about one person and there are a lot of other amazing people out there, but I think that is part of where the collective anxiousness is coming from.  He represents many things to many people. Hil on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964071 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 10:41:31 +0000 Hil 964071@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ My silly personal Madiba story... I was at work in downtown Johanneburg CBD and I popped out for lunch. I got caught up in a crowd that had stopped on the side of the road for an entourage of official vehicles to pass. Madiba was in one of the big black cars and I saw him smiling at waving. I was quite unintentionally at the front of the crown and I felt like we made eye contact and he had waved personally at me. Sounds so silly in retrospect, but I bounded back to the office so excited to have seen the man in person! Thank you for your insight Ornella! Ornella on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964065 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 10:09:41 +0000 Ornella 964065@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ On a personal note, we must always ask ourselves why we want someone to stay with us. There are times and situations when the outcomes, however unwanted, are not unexpected. Which does not make it any easier, of course. But, if it's someone's time, we must be able to let them go. It was the hardest thing to accept in the process of my mum passing away, but I knew it was her who mattered the most, especially as her illness was progressing. Sometimes, the body comes to the end of the road. But what matters, after all the pain, is the legacy of the person. Some people are bigger than life and Mandela is one of them. Most of historically important figures -- especially so hugely positive ones -- have lived in different eras, we only know about them from the books and cannot relate to them on almost personal level, but - Mandela is a man of our time, our era, our own history. Not a complete stranger. We are privileged. It's an overwhelming feeling.  Therefore, both objectively and subjectively, I can understand the feeling of collective anxiety. And I think it is even more augmented by the fact that so very, very few public personalities nowadays are such strong moral public figures. I remember thinking along these lines when Mother Theresa passed away. We almost feel like "Who will now show us the light and the right road?" In some way, we all become orphans when such people are no more with us. We have to demonstrate, on our own, that we were listening while those special people were talking. May I share a story? These days it's 10 years since a very special event when I, as I like to say it, saw Mandela, which technically did happen, although I was in the audience and he was on the stage. But I made sure I was as close to the stage as possible, as a mere mortal who wanted to make the most of the opportunity to breathe the same air as this man. And I dialled my husband on the phone, so he can listen to Mandela's speech too. Those are a hugely treasured few moments from my personal history, starting with U2 singing "One man come in the name of love", then the music getting quieter and the atmosphere rising as we all knew whom Bono Vox went to get from the backstage, and the roar that followed. I was a volunteer at the Special Olympics in Dublin in 2003, and Mandela had declared the Games open that night. 10 years on, I still get the goosebumps and tears in my eyes when I remember those moments. (It's around 9:00 mark on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATqWZdZQiUg">this video</a>. Also, Mandela on the stage, 2nd photo in <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.irishtimes.com/special-olympics-10-years-on-1.1438050">this slide show</a>. ) Hil on "Tata Madiba" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/tata-madiba#post-964047 Tue, 25 Jun 2013 09:01:06 +0000 Hil 964047@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm sure most of you who follow international news will know of Nelson Mandela's failing health. There is a very dark cloud hanging over South Africa at the moment as we all wait anxiously for any news. I think he, in his way, is letting us down gently. The consensus seems to be that if it is his time, then it is ok to go. It's an odd thing though - this collective anxious feeling... I compared it, when talking to friends last night, to a time when my dear uncle was dying of cancer and we, as a family, spent the days before his death at the hospital, holding space for him. But this isn't an uncle - he is a stranger and yet not a stranger ,a much beloved icon. We all agree that we are feeling vulnerable and emotional at the moment. Objectively speaking, I find this collective anxiousness intriguing.