Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Nelson Mandela was a great leader because of his dedication, inspiration, and his vision of change. He was one of the leaders to put an end to segregation/apartheid rule of Africa and the first black president of the country. As president, his main goal was to unify Africa. He made sure that everyone clearly knew and understood his goal of equality, and took all the steps possible in order to reach that goal. He encouraged the actions of others, and motivated others towards acceptance of people that are different. He integrated his own staff and consistently expressed his desire for the rest of Africa to also get along with people of a different race. Mandela modelled the way, inspired a shared vision, enabled others to act, challenged the process, and encouraged the heart, which are all 5 parts of leadership. All these qualities, and his peaceful tactics for dealing with the issues, are some of the many reasons why Nelson Mandela was such a great leader.”
We all have the capacity to be great leaders. We all the ability to make a difference in the community where we live. We all make choices every day. Pablo Picasso said “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” It is easy to sit and think “I will never do anything as great as Mandela or Mother Teresa or these other world leaders. What can do I in my little town that will make any difference?” But we all can. We each have our own vision and ideas for what is important and when we all work away at it, and stay dedicated, good things happen. Julie Barban is an example of someone who has had a vision, stayed dedicated and inspired hundreds of children and many audiences with her rendition of the Heritage Ballet Nutcracker. This year is the 10th anniversary of the show and a cast of almost 100 people have been rehearsing since September. 8 graduates from Heritage Ballet are returning from university to make a guest appearance. 3 local celebrities will be on stage in the infamous “Mother Ginger” role. When my daughter is an adult I’m sure the stories she will tell about our family Christmas traditions will be about the Nutcracker. Not only has she gotten the opportunity to be beautiful up on that stage, but she has witnessed the power of a community coming together to sew costumes, make props, sell tickets, bake cookies and help little dancers when they don’t remember which side of the stage to enter from. It isn’t always easy, or neat but the end product is always beautiful and inspiring. And that comes from great leadership. Shows are Dec 21 and 22 at the Northern Lights Pavilion. Tickets are available at Cranberry Cottage and are $15.