William Ernest Henley is not a name most would recognise. However, refer to his poem Invictus and the bells start ringing. Some might remember the film of that name which was based around the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, a few short years after the end of apartheid. That was truly a magnificent film with Morgan Freeman seemingly born to play the part of Nelson Mandela. If you have not yet had occasion to see this film, find the time. Believe me, it’s worth it. It’s a truly inspiring film that brings to the fore what a great leader Mandela was. Incidentally the film ends with Mandela reciting the poem (and I’m not spoiling the film by telling you this!).

Some might remember the most inspiring lines in the poem.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

Henley had a tough life. His upbringing was in poverty and in his late teens one of his legs was partially amputated due to a bout of tuberculosis. It is said that it was these experiences which led him to write the poem. Going into the detail of the meaning behind the poem would require a treatise, but the few lines quoted above are the most popular and formulate one basic thought: although life may take you in different directions and on different paths, deep down it is up to you. We are each the masters of our fate.

It’s up to you.

So, that’s what it boils down to. The decisions we take on a daily basis affect our lives, sometimes in unimagined ways. We start taking decisions early on in life, often with the help of our elders and family members – help, mind you, not imposition! In our teens we decide whether to dive immediately into the working world or go for a few years or more of study before entering the mad, mad world of working for a living. Choices are not always easy. This is where we each need to take time to reflect on the effect our choices will have on our future and the future of our loved ones. Holistically speaking, we may also need to reflect on how our choices affect more than just our family.

Choices

In less than two weeks, the voting population of our island will be faced with a choice. The decision, in its barest form, is really quite simple.  It’s either PN or PL! Are you happy with the status quo or do we need a change of direction?

Being a Labour Party candidate there is no surprise as to my choice. For me it has to be the Labour Party, and there is one major reason for this. Perversely, this has been confirmed by the latest billboard to hit the island. I refer to the PN billboard which shows Joseph Muscat with a red face and Lawrence Gonzi with a blue one. This billboard inadvertently identifies the true nature of the PN. Whilst the Labour Party thinks in terms of one population, one nation, one goal, the Nationalist Party refers to the red and the blue. For the PN politics is still a “them and us” situation. This is wrong. This attitude has to change. We cannot afford to eliminate half our population from the equation. Our country needs to be led by the brightest and the best independent, of their political affiliation. This is the only way forward.