“Yes, I was angry. And I was a little afraid. After all I’ve not been free in so long. But, when I felt that anger well up inside of me, I realized that if I hated them after I got outside that gate, then they would still have me. I wanted to be free so I let it go.”

~Nelson Mandela upon leaving prison after 27 years of confinement

Druid, thank you so much for posting this. It really hit home with me!

Mandela said this to Bill Clinton in March of 98, Clinton claims it was advice on how to handle Monicagate. In 2004 the quote was limited to "They've already had me for 27 years,I had to let it go". In 2006 Clinton wrote an Op Ed for a South African paper, in it he stated that he was fighting the republicans over something and he remembered what Mandela had said and gave the quote in it's current format. I'm not saying that Mandela said this, nor am I intending to bash on Clinton because I think both are great men, I just saying that the quote is not really a quote.

Sounds good, but in reality I suspect most of us " let it go" for a while then get good and pissed again later then " let it go" again. There is such a thing as righteous indignation, and the morg is so deserving as long as they exist . Some kind of balance is all I am after.

Oh man, this is exactly how I feel. Thx.

I am glad you put it that way Druid. That is good.

I had wanted to like the quote so much just because it was Mr. Mandela, but it bother me.

“Yes, I was angry. And I was a little afraid. After all I’ve not been free in so long. But, when I felt that anger well up inside of me, I realized that if I hated them after I got outside that gate, then they would still have me. I wanted to be free so I let it go.”

~Nelson Mandela upon leaving prison after 27 years of confinement

If we want to be healthy and at our best, we need to let the negativity go and not harbor resentments, bitterness, hate etc.
It's self sabotage to hang onto those emotions. There is a great world of peace of mind out there just waiting for us!

There is a quote from Buddha that goes something like this:
“Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

Ohh I like that.

I'm working towards letting it all go. One day soon, I hope.

However, for now, when emotion and anger bottles up, RfM is the one reliable place I can go to ease up that anger, to vent a little, to share with others, seek advice.

Part of that advice that I rely on from this forum, which is greatly appreciated is the quote you just posted. So thank you.

Anger has it's place. Bitterness has its place. It's what you do with them.

If they are there they need to be harnessed, not harvested. They need to be used for good.

Denying them or pretending you don't have them is not positive. Examining what the reasons for them, categorizing them, understanding them. Deciding critically that what has happened to you and how that fits into your matrix is paramount. These so-called negatives are powerful weapons when combined with wisdom. That is why Martin Luther King was a hero. There was anger, there was bitterness and they gave birth to power. To change.

Letting go without proper introspection is suppression and reinforcement. That which is buried will be unearthed when you least expect it.

+1

Oh man. I was *so* having blueorchid withdrawals. :-)
Thanks for this. I'm still struggling with how to harness the anger.

Mormonism has changed too, but NOT for the better. They've become MORE stupid, MORE reactionary, MORE invasive, MORE controlling.