What did you do for your 67 minutes on Mandela Day? Did you offer your time for a humanitarian cause or did you simply spend those 67 extra minutes watching rugby?
It's easy to block out the need around us, heck we do it everyday — like when we choose to ignore those annoying guys begging at the traffic lights. Now, I'm not saying that giving to these guys is right, but I do think that we need to be more aware of what goes on around us, and sometimes we need to sacrifice our time to help those in need. It's easy to give money, but it's not easy to give someone your time. In fact, time is something that Mandela gave so much of (most of his life in fact), so that we could live in an equal society.
I'm certainly no saint and just as guilty as the next person, always making excuses. 'I don't have time', 'It's too much effort', and 'If I give to one person I have to give to everyone'. This weekend I realised that it's really not that difficult.
There's a Congolese car guard up the road from me who watches the cars come rain or shine, and passes his day feeding pigeons, and he always greets me and has a smile on his face, even though he lives in a cardboard box.
For my 67 minutes I went shopping for him and just bought him some dinner and gave him some old magazines. The smile on his humble face was bigger than ever, and it really wasn't all that much effort.
Now the challenge is, how can I make a difference every day? Perhaps I just need to keep my eyes open and notice those in need.
How did you spend your 67 minutes? I would love to know. Click here to send me an email
