Give freely of yourself

Sseven minutes doesn’t sound like a lot of time. It’s an easy sacrifice to make. However, to someone in need, it could make a world of difference.

This weekend, South Africans will again aim to do good for 67 minutes in honour of Nelson Mandela’s 67 years of public service. Just 67 minutes. In a whole year. People also have a tendency to publicise their acts of goodness. Posting on social media, documenting their works as if, without the validation, the acts of kindness never took place.

If a man donates money to charity but no one is around to tweet about it, did it really happen?

Mandela Day, celebrated on July 18, Madiba’s birthday, serves as a reminder that everyone can do good. Even if it’s just for an hour and seven minutes.

It’s the spirit of the thing that must be celebrated. Not the hoopla around telling people about it. The joy is in the giving, in the doing. It is in that way that we celebrate Madiba’s life and honour his memory.

It is for this reason the message one should take from the celebrations is this: make every day a Mandela day.

What’s stopping you from doing good for 67 minutes every day? Is it the added attention that causes us to now stand up and do something good? Like some sort of charity bandwagon to be hopped on and ridden just on July 18.

No, there are people and organisations who do good all day, every day. Nothing is stopping you from doing the same.

On July 18, Mandela Day, you get to experience some of the fulfilment those everyday heroes feel on a daily basis.

It can be a contagious, and persistent condition.

May this Mandela Day be the start of something. May it provide the impetus for us to do more good, be excellent to each other, the way Nelson Mandela taught us.

May July 18 be the first step to making every day a Mandela Day.