I wanted to be a doctor at some point, and I was always bringing home strays from school: people who were too poor to pay fees or have food. My parents never rebuked me or told me that they were hard-pressed, too.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a desire to help others and the support of family in altruistic actions.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's quote emphasizes the importance of compassion and kindness in one's upbringing. It highlights how her aspirations of becoming a doctor were fueled by her innate desire to help those in need, particularly through her actions of bringing home individuals who faced hardship. The unwavering support from her parents, despite their own struggles, showcases the value of empathy and generosity that can profoundly impact one's character and choices in life.
In practice
In a speech about community service, you might quote this to inspire others to help those in need.
In the normal course of things, journalists want their story, and as soon as they are through with it, they pack their cameras and go. That was never the impression that David Astor gave when you were interviewed by him. It was far deeper than that.
One of the greatest things I fear is letting down my people. I wouldn't live with that type of conscience, of having let down my people after they've been brutalized for so long.
We shall liberate our country.
I learned to deal with the police... to be tough... to survive.
I am not sorry. I will never be sorry. I would do everything I did again if I had to. Everything.
The solution of this country's problems lies in black hands.
There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark.
The compassion we feel normally is biased and mixed with attachment. Genuine compassion flows towards all living beings, particularly your enemies. If I try to develop compassion towards my enemy, it may not benefit him directly, he may not even be aware of it. But it will immediately benefit me by calming my mind. On the other hand, if I dwell on how awful everything is, I immediately lose my peace of mind.
We, like the Mother of the World, become the compassionate presence that can hold, with tenderness, the rising and passing waves of suffering.
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.
We need to take action to develop compassion, to create inner peace within ourselves and to share that inner peace with our family and friends. Peace and warm-heartednes s can then spread through the community just as ripples radiate out across the water when you drop a pebble into a pond
It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal.
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