Awhile back Daria was in her home in Luhansk, Ukraine. She and I were discussing Sports and new Economic Opportunities for the people in Eastern Europe. She said to me the people love Sports but little was happening because there were so many problems. Shortly after that, the bombs started dropping from every direction on her hometown.
As the entire Region became engulfed in war, she migrated with many hundreds of thousands of other Ukranians to Moscow. 2 million Ukrainians have been displaced.
Faced with the most uncertain of futures, she got together with friends and they began a small business to assist foreign tourists unfamiliar with the area, language, needing help doing business or even how to get around. Friends in Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Thailand, China beginning something from nothing but strong spirit.
And she got immediately back to work on trying to help the people of Eastern Europe build better lives for themselves.
I cannot help but throw in a small insert at this point. When I hear some of the things some people in this country want to complain about, fight about, tear each other up about I just want to go slap each and every one of them. It's the two-sided coin. It's because there are people like Daria that I have to resist that urge. And also why it's possible to do so
What makes it more possible to avoid just wanting to shake some people and scream "Are you really this?" is because the World has so many who, like Daria, struggle through the direst circumstances imaginable, rise above them and even stand up and work to make things better for others as well. One day the rebuilding will begin and she and many others will be able to return home and begin anew. Again.
This is the Season so many talk about being this way and oh what a World if we were this way all year long. Maybe one day we will be. Maybe this next year will be the one.
But until we are, we are all more blessed than we deserve that there are people who are this way Season after Season.
Happy Holidays everyone.
