Meditation

A few years ago I went to South Africa with the People to People Ambassador Program – a delegation of 60 storytellers from all over the USA. We were part of a cultural exchange program – we told stories to the storytellers of S. Africa and they told stories to us. It was an extraordinary time. I would like to share one observation with you.

While in Cape Town I went with a group to Robben Island which is where Nelson Mandela was held in prison – solitary most of the time for 18 years. He was in prison longer than that but 18 years here. An ex-inmate was our guide. I saw Mandela’s cell and was shown the limestone quarry where he and other inmates worked under the very hot sun with no shade. The picture is: a blue blue sky, white white limestone and the hot yellow tropical sun. The guide pointed out that the “powers that be” really made a big mistake – they sentenced all the political activists – the best minds in S. Africa to the same prison. While they worked in the quarry they talked – about what the new constitution should be – they learned to compromise – to negotiate – about what life should be like when they got out. Plans were being made for after apartheid.

At the beginning of the road that goes into the quarry there is a pile of rocks – everyday rocks, nothing special. The guide told us that one day as Mandela was leaving the quarry, he picked up a rock and dropped it – all the others did the same. The result was a pile of rocks but symbolically it represents so-o-o-o-o much more. It was an expression of unity - as a group there is power and strength and there was the understanding that we are all interdependent and interconnected. I am overwhelmed with the thought that a group of men who are living in tortured and brutal and barren conditions can have the understanding and spirit to create such a symbol. They understood that their stories, their lives and their future were all connected.