Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep No more; and by a sleep, to say we end The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks That Flesh is heir to? ‘Tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished. To die to sleep, To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there’s the rub”
– William Shakespeare
All men will have to face, in the words of Joseph Campbell “the cave they fear to enter” at some point in life. In true Shakespearean fashion, the most radical of life’s propositions appear to have the ring of truth to it. Facing the trials and tribulations life with nobility seems to be the right thing to do.
While many a story has been told of the gallantry of those who face fortuna head on, there is something else intriguing about such figures. They are eeringly silent about what they have been through. We live in times where the currency of status is how much you have suffered. Yet, the most admirable thing about the most admirable people is that they do not ever complain.
We all suffer in life at some point, but some more than others. Yet there are people who have suffered unspeakable tragedies, yet they never advertise, boast or disclose anything about it. What’s even more alluring about them is when you are aware of it. You wait for that moment when they will finally reveal all, yet, it never comes, you wait until the conversation breaches the topic of pain yet they refuse to shine the torch on themselves.
Recently, South Africa went on to win their fourth world cup defeating New Zealand 12-11 in the final. But in 2019 there was something more transfixing about their 3rd world cup campaign, that is the story of Makazole Mapimpi.
There were scenes of ecstasy across South Africa when the winger made a break, chipped and chased the ball which was recovered by a teammate who passed it back to Mapimpi. In the clear, the South African number 11 scored at the 66th minute of the game. The try sealed South Africa’s fate and his try went on to seal South Africa’s victory against England in the 2019 world cup final.
His coach “Erasmus” was asked pointedly in a Documentary on South Africa’s triumph
“Who was Makazole playing for that day?”
He replied “Obviously he was playing for South Africa..”
Erasmus became visibly emotional and he asked “Do you know the story of the jerseys?” On the back of your jerseys you had to place the photos of your family members, he only had photos of himself because he didn’t have anybody else and then I asked, why are you doing this and he replied “my Brother died, my Mum died and my Father died” so he doesn’t play for one thing”, he’s just got a massive heart”
The mind cannot begin to comprehend the tragic circumstances of a life like Mapimipi’s let alone the drive to become a professional athlete despite his tragic life circumstances and the inner self belief and nobility it would take not only to do such a thing but to do it with humility and grace.
You can even see it in Mapimpi’s demeanor, he appears almost shy in front of the camera, he speaks no more than necessary, he is soft spoken, he is not brash, arrogant or cocky. If anyone in the limelight ever had reason to fall to the trappings of success , it is certainly Mapimpi. But he appears grounded, humble and dedicated to a vision larger than himself.
I was once at a dinner party when two close friends began a long conversation about their lives. Both suffered deep pain in life and untold outrageous fortunes. The tides of the conversation, is seemed, were intentionally stirred towards the advertisement of victimhood by one. The other remained silent about their lot in life.
One advertised their suffering while the other remained silent about theirs. Ironically, the one who had suffered more was the one silent about their past and everyone present already knew her story was perhaps the worst of the worst, she raised two children by herself, her husband was an alcoholic who ended up in a nursing home, and in over 20 years of knowing her, not once did she breach the topic of her moral burdens. That is truly noble and its as if admiration seeks you the more nobly you tread the turbulent waters of life. The noblest among us do not reveal unless asked and in their silence speaks dignity and nobility. There are times where people transcend the boundaries of hopelessness and rise above the flames of despair.
This is an important lesson for the times we live in, we tend to think that suffering defines who you are. But as the story of Mapimpi suggests, it is how you digest suffering that defines, at the very least, how others regard you. Rarely if not ever do sports stars ever deserve titles of ‘heroic’ or ‘titans’ but if there was one man who deserved the title of hero it is the 33 year old South African Winger, Makazole Mapimpi.
