Patrick Atkinson

Patrick Atkinson is a South African politician who has served as a Democratic Alliance Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. Previously he served as a City of Johannesburg municipal councillor from 2019 to 2022 and as the Shadow Deputy Minister of Economic Development and as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa between 2014 and 2019. Quotes When I was 13, I went camping with a group of friends from school. I was very small, I was a tiny boy. I may have weighed 80 pounds. Our leaders planned a canoe outing. We would split into 2 different teams, each assigned to a steel bottom canoe. The goal was that we would attack each other and play pirates. It was my job, as the “tiny boy” to stay in the canoe and row it away to keep it away from the opposite team. I was protecting the canoe from being taken captive by the “pirates”. But that day– the other team started to rock the canoe, and it started to fill up with water, and the canoe started to sink!” “I had on my lifejacket. The jacket was holding me up, but the canoe was pulling me down. I shouted for help! Remember that this was a steel bottom canoe– it was not like they make them today. It was sinking, and it was taking me down with it. I mustered my energy and screamed for help—but no one heard me. Water poured into my mouth, and the steel canoe pulled me down into the Apple Creek River. My foot was caught on the boat, but my life preserver was keeping me afloat. I was floating like a fishing bobber. You would think that I would be panicked. But I wasn’t. “ At that very moment- I had a typical life after death experience which I did see and (speaking as a level headed guy—which I am), I saw snippets of my life until age 13— I just had this feeling that “you’ve lived a good life.” I was moving through darkness and I saw this huge light, like a candle had been lit up next to my eyes— it felt like pure love—I knew it was God, as I was moving closer and closer to the light. There was this visible “mist” between me and that love. The intensity was so pure. I wanted more than anything to go through the mist. I was so exulted to unite with that love. I then heard the voice say calmly, peacefully, “You have to go back– it’s not your time to die—I have things for you to do in this life”. And within what felt like a fraction of a second, I felt myself going back, and I burst through to the top of the surface.” External links Category:Living people Category:Politicians from South Africa