I had the pleasure to meet Christopher Gardner, who you may know as the man who Will Smith played in the movie Pursuit of Happyness.  I had about 2 hours of, one on one time to spend with Chris in Charlotte.  It was the best 2 hours I could have spent with anyone! Chris knew Nelson Mandela personally, and he was a topic of our conversation.  This is what we talked about:

Chris said that if his house ever caught on fire, there was only one thing that he wanted to be saved.  I tried to guess what, but I was nowhere near a correct guess.  Chris said the only thing he valued was a glass vase with dirt in it?  So y’all know I’m looking at him like, dirt Chris?  He said, not just dirt, dirt from the back yard of Nelson Mandela’s house.  So I’m still wondering why dirt from Mandela’s house would be important.  And Chris is a real funny and very intelligent man.  So he asked,  you’re curious right?  And I was!

Chris said, when the Mandela’s were fighting apartheid, people were constantly watching them. They had their house bugged, and people were constantly trying to hear what was going on inside the house.  Winnie had to be strong, be careful what she said, and who she talked to.  She couldn’t really talk about anything in the house for fear of being recorded.  They had to be strong in the house and be brave.  But when they went in the back yard, that is where they cried, that’s where they shared their secrets with each other. That is where they prayed and talk to the most honorable on high. That is where they were FREE! 

So in that container, what looks like dirt, is life!  The life of the Mandelas; The tears they cried for apartheid and freedom and for all the people of Africa. The tears Winnie cried when Mandela was incarcerated, and the blood she shed in her life.  The screams of being alone, but still remain strong for her country and her husband when he had a life sentence in prison.  The tears she cried to God, begging for strength to survive.  A vase that contained history and life is what he had.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Nelson Mandela, but I felt closer to him by meeting Chris Gardner.  And I now understand why he said, if his house burned down, that’s the only thing he would want to save.  Life in a vase!

“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.” “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.” Quoted by Nelson Mandela

R.I.P. Nelson Mandela, and thank you for freedom of speech, your strength to fight, and your loyalty to the world!

Hugs and Love,

The “Real” Mommie Teresa