07/07/2026
I met Nelson Mandela in the early 1990s and was moved by how he emerged from 25 years of unjust imprisonment able to forgive the very people who took that time from him.
I asked how he "survived" those years. He said he didn't survive, he prepared. He prepared to forgive, so that if he made it out, he could truly let go and lead his country forward.
He put it simply: "As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew that if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison."
Mandela knew forgiveness isn't a gift we give others, it's the gift we give ourselves. It's freedom from the past, and from the pain that eats away at our mind and body.
