The Mind Creative DECEMBER 2013 | Page 8

The Mind Creative DEC 2013 Mandela had a penchant for order in his life. According to Richard Stengel, the author of "Mandela's Way: Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage," Mandela made his bed every morning, kept fastidious lists of every letter he received, and made it a point to arrive on time everywhere he went. The authors (Mac Maharaj and Ahmad Kathrada) of the book "Mandela: The Authorized Portrait" say that when Mandela was 7, he put on a pair of his father's trousers that were cut off at the knee and tied at the waist with string to go to his first day of school. "I must have been a comical sight, but I have never owned a suit I was prouder to wear than my father's cut-off trousers," he wrote from his cell on Robben Island. “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” 8