It’s amazing how one person can affect the lives of so many. I was never one of those fortunate to meet the Late Great Nelson Mandela, but still I sit here with tears rolling down my cheeks, mourning his loss as I listen to the tributes pouring in from across the world.  I remember the day he was set free, glued like millions across the world, waiting with bated breath for that first glimpse of the man who had been locked away fighting for equal rights and the end of the apartheid regime.

Never has the loss of a world leader been felt so keenly by so many.  He defined for me what forgiveness looks like and when I think of the petty differences I’ve held onto in my life I feel a sense of shame especially when I think of his dignity, his courage and his capacity to see the bigger picture and his ability to forgive those who took 27 years from him.

I’m sure he was no saint, after all he was human, but he was the kind of human that if there was a 10th of him in the world, it would be a much better place. The world is a poorer place for no longer having him in it. RIP Madiba.

Pictures courtesy of guardianlv.com & BBC.co.uk