Positive Spirit

Today is the day I focus on Positive Spirit! As I said yesterday, it is raining and I had to go to class today. I am still trying my hardest to have a positive spirit. The Earth needed to be watered, so it rained. I needed to learn something, so I had to go to class. It's why I am in college. Currently, I am sitting in the library reading Nelson Mandela's autobiography. I am across an example of positive spirit, and I thought I would share it with you! Here are a couple of lines from Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela about his childhood with a little background info summarized by me:

Background: Nelson had a very influential father in his tribe. He was a counselor to the Kings and was recognized by the British government. Therefore, Nelson grew up with a little more luxury than most. One day Nelson's father decided to defy the magistrates, and in those days it was not tolerated. Nelson's father was denounced of all titles and therefore the family was left with very little. Here is the paragraph from the book and what I think to be a great example of positive spirit...

"I was unaware of these events at the time, but I was not unaffected. My father, who was a wealthy nobleman by the standards of his time, lost both his fortune and his title. He was deprived of most of his heard and land, and the revenue that came with them. Because of our straitened circumstances, my mother moved to Qunu, a slightly larger village north of Mvezo, where she would have the support of friends and relations. We lived in a less grand style in Qunu, but it was in that village near Umtata that I spend the happiest years of my boyhood and whence I trace my earliest memories."

Nelson went on to describe the living conditions of his new living quarters in the next chapter. He lived in a hut mad of mud, ant hills, and cow dung. How could he have considered this to be where he spent the happiest years of his boyhood? Most of us would have been miserable. This is just one more reason why I think Nelson Mandela was such a great man with a positive spirit.

Caring

Today's characteristic was caring. I woke up this morning to the smell of bacon and eggs. My roommate, Erin, had cooked breakfast for me, and I was so thankful. After washing the dishes I went back to my room and thought about what I was going to do to show someone that I cared. I looked to my right and saw that my closet was extremely messy and needed to be cleaned out. I decided to gather up all of the clothes, purses, and stuffed animals that had been sitting there for quite a while and donate them to Goodwill. No one will ever know that the shirt or pants that they bought from Goodwill were once owned by me, but I enjoyed very much the oppurtunity to give to someone something they needed. Tomorrow I am going to be challenged by the characteristic that is next on the list. POSITIVE SPIRIT! This is going to be very hard since I have to go to class and it will be raining, but I will try my hardest. I haven't been able to sit down and read any of Nelson Mandela's autobiography yet, but I do have about an hour break tomorrow so I think I will spend that time reading. I'll let you know how the day goes....

The Generic First Post

So as you can see in the title of my blog I am writing this because I tend to forget things. I woke up today, and realized that I want to be able to tell the kind of stories my grandparents tell me about their childhood. Well…. if I forget some random story then I can come here and look at it. I am not an English major, so don’t judge my grammar or spelling. I probably won’t write every day so don’t expect it….

I recently became obsessed with Nelson Mandela’s life. I think that this is because I watched Invictus, and then the next day I heard a story about how a man was once invited to eat breakfast with Mr. Mandela. When he arrived, Mr. Mandela greeted the man at his limo, and then shook the hand of his driver. During the breakfast Mr. Mandela excused himself and the man eating with him did not know why until after. Mr. Mandela had gone out to the limo and invited the driver to breakfast in his kitchen. What a great attitude Nelson Mandela has! I aspire to have an attitude like his.  I want to learn more about this man, so tonight I bought his autobiography. It is called Long Walk To Freedom. I am very anxious to start reading it.

The man who told me the story about Nelson Mandela was also very inspired by Mr. Mandela’s attitude. He gave me 13 characteristics of someone who has an impeccable attitude. They are: Caring, Positive spirit, Friendliness, Kindness, Self Control, Energetic, Happy/Joyful, Patience, Forgiveness, Humbleness, Loyalty, Encouraging, and Learning Spirit. I have decided that for the next 13 days I am going to adopt one of these characteristics and try to perfect it in my life. I’ll let you know how it goes…..