Dear Dad,
It has been over 35 years since you were sown on the African soil. The soil must be enriched by the wealth of knowledge you possessed in your lifetime. Five months later after your passing, I arrived on this earth – dumb, naked and speechless. I am sure the earth felt my arrival and when I touched the enriched African soil and surely you felt me in the ether. As the saying goes, the baton has to be handed over, I came to this earth with most of your attributes and my tiny little hands held something precious.
Dad, I am a grown ass man now – I got a beautiful wife and a beautiful house to be filled by your beautiful grandchildren soon – and my hands have grown to be able to write this letter to you and do more things that I could never have thought I would be able to do. I can attest that your departing at a young age did not make thing easier for your wife. I can only imagine what she must have gone through – pain, sorrow, and hurt but I am sure that you never left her or your other kidz, my siblings. I learned at a tender age that you were with God and that gave me comfort that you were at a right place looking and guiding us as good angels do.
In recent years I discovered what those tiny little hands were holding. I could call it talent but the word suited is a GIFT. At a young age I had no one to help me realize this gift of mine but somehow I knew I had it. I didn’t know how to share or nurture it. You must have known this from where you are because out of the blue I could get people telling me how great I am when I do something closer to this gift. The gift that I am blessed with is talking to people, public speaking – in modern terms, and helping people realize their gifts – what a blessing indeed. Did you have such a gift? Is this the baton that you passed to me? Maybe I already know the answers to these questions. I have spoken in front of hundreds of people and have made some people realized how good they are with what they have. It is so amazing to realize the power I have by talking alone.
Being on stage and utter the first words take me to another level, I am a different person, I feel my soul shoots through the ether and connect with my creator. The message that I share connects with people’s souls as if I am conducting an orchestra – I touch the emotions and change the mood in the room the way I want to – the room responds with laughter and sometimes the silence is the room is deafening that you can hear the pin drop. My talent gives me life, it is my reason for living. Sometimes I wish you could be there with me and sometimes I feel your presence. I can’t help to think how proud you could be of your little man but I get comforted by the thought that you are watching over me and keeping me going.
One thing I know that you and I have in common other than good looks is that we never give up, challenging the status quo is at our core as the Mthantis. I realized this when your wife, my mother, gave me a sneak preview down memory lane of the type of the person that you were and I know that I may be following on your footsteps but my path is different.
This is the first letter I am writing to you but I promise that it won’t be the last. Rest assure that every success and every accomplishment I owe it to you. You are the man that never held me in his arms but I think holding me in your spiritual arms is way better.
Pass my regards to my sisters and my brother, I love you all dearly.
Your loving son,
Mduduzi Mthanti
This letter is dedicated to my father how was the hard worker and a visionary, he took care of my family and share the vision of possibilities. He passed away five months before I was born. The baton must be passed over whether we like it or not.