Ashley Dobia Mwanza

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela turned 91 years ‘young’ today and how we wish we could have more inspirational leaders such as this man. A man who knows that any real change starts from within, a true leader. Life and its problems is a continuous struggle and the words of this fine gentleman sum it up, “after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb...There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.” As we fight our passions more obsessions will crop up, as we fight for a world of peace more conflict will emerge, hence we should be prepared to fight.

At the opening of the South African Parliament in Cape Town in 1999 during the last year of his presidency, Mandela called for a “reconstruction and development program of the soul.” He had made clear that “our first task as government is to change and improve the basic living conditions of people” and had worked tirelessly to that end. “We are, however, learning every day that there is an even more basic task of reconstruction before us... The best attempts by a government or authority will be fruitless if the people of a country do not experience a change within themselves,” Mandela concluded.

Change within himself led to the great leader that is Mandela. His incredible power as a ‘transformational’ leader came in part through the demonstration of change within himself. Prepared for the presidency by thirty years in prison and a lifetime resistance against oppression and injustice, he acquired a stalwart, inspiring moral and spiritual courage that enabled him to rise above the hate and recrimination that was so deeply embedded in the apartheid system of his country. He led from his inner strength and offered to all the people a vision of moral reconstruction to guide South Africa’s future, “if there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness,” he went to say. He by no doubt built these two roads in his own heart first.

Mandela knew how imperative was the task of building social, economic and political systems that promote justice, freedom and human dignity. He reveals something of the spirituality of leadership, authentic spirituality puts us in touch with life’s deepest realities and the truth about ourselves. Since Mandela has encountered spiritual truths in the midst of deep and painful human realities, being the leader that he is Mandela has helped whole societies embrace a new future. A true and all inspiring case of leadership from the inside out. In his own words Mandela shows that he had to fight his own fears for others to fight theirs too, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” In his fearlessness South Africans in turn became fearless and together they conquered.

“There is no such thing as part freedom....Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.” Nelson Mandela.

Ashley Dobia Mwanza

Could the Lisbon treaty be facing a second round ‘bashing’? Could we be facing more protests? The country’s largest public-service trade union IMPACT was quick to point out that the Government should ignore the recommendation contained in the McCarthy report published yesterday. It's cuts all the way, totalling €5,3 billion.

It is those who are living on welfare payouts who will have a lot to say, they are the most vulnerable and hradest hit too.The timing of the publication was no doubt mistimed, "Bord Snip Nua" recommended that government should cut Social Welfare payments, it had been rumoured that the government won't announce that until after the Lisbon Referendum because they won't want 400 thousand voting against Lisbon on a protest vote. Well what now? Yes it’s not the government that made the announcement but it’s a publication of possibilities. The media has been singing that Ireland is up the creek without a paddle from our Taoiseach, and then now this. On the streets some who are surviving on welfare payouts made their anger felt by talking about it openly and bemoaning what they called the ‘ludicrous’ government.

“Given the continuing fall in prices, the report says the general cut in social welfare allowances would bring the value of payments back to the level seen in the summer 2008,” Irish Times.

However, many of the recommendations of the McCarthy Committee will impact on the poor.

“The committee will,” Mr Lenihan said in the Irish Times, “be able to hear the opinions of all those affected by the independent report’s recommendations.” The one thing about this committee is that it is not independent. According to Paul Sweeny, it was carefully selected by the Mandarins in Finance (who should have undertaken the work themselves… though one can see the advantage of outsourcing the manufacture of bitter pills), because all of its members are very conservative. As Vincent Browne has repeatedly said, none of them have a record of the promotion of equality or equity. So it will hear, but it does not have to listen.

At first reading, there is one major criticism of the report. First, is the lack of an economic analysis of the impact of the report. This is particularly surprising from a report chaired by an economist. The reason there was no economic analysis of the impact of the report is that the extent of the proposals are so potentially deflationary that it may lead to a downward spiral in economic activity, delaying economic growth for some time.

It’s interesting to see where we go from here...

Detachment in our world today

Ashley D. Mwanza

There can be no personal transformation without detachment. But what does that mean for us today?

Having read on this subject in the book Jesus Today by Albert Nolan. It really got me thinking. Detachment is not a popular word today. It seems to imply aloofness and indifference. When we accuse someone of being detached, we usually mean that person lacks feeling or passion for something or somebody. This is a world normally used to describe our politicians. But that is not what the word means in the many spiritual traditions that make use of it. Detachment properly understood, means freedom, inner freedom.

Although it is not a word that Jesus used, detachment expresses very well an important element in his spirituality: the ability to let go. We can speak of this as “purity of heart” or as the process of becoming “poor in spirit.”

Meister Eckhart, described detachment as been more fundamental than love itself, because without freedom from our attachments we cannot love fully and unconditionally. We are not free to love until we are willing to stop clinging to our possessions of one kind or another. Otherwise, like the rich young man (Mk 10:17-22), our love and our commitment will always be impeded.

Our egos chain us down with a multitude of attachments. Our egos cling desperately to things, people, to times and places, to reputation and image, to professions and ministries, to our ideas and practices, to success and life itself. These are our chains. We need to take a closer look at them.