"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light" ~ Aristotle Onassis
This quote rings so true as we continue to watch and report on the war in Ukraine. And while the Ukrainian people continue to display incredible strength under pressure and an unwavering sense of civic pride and duty I must admit that I have been blown away by the global outpouring of support coming from civilians all over the world.Last week we reported that over 16000 foreigners had signed up to fight along side Ukrainian military forces...people from around the world with no familial or national ties to the country. That number is now reported to be closer to 20,000, according to a New York Post article.
"Nearly 20,000 foreign volunteers have signed up to fight alongside Ukraine against invading Russian troops, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.
“Experienced veterans and volunteers from 52 countries of the world come to us. This is their desire,” Kubela said, local media reported.
These are people who simply believe in the basic Human Right of Freedom and are willing to lay down their lives to defend it and the people of Ukraine. Perfect strangers with no ties to this now war ravaged country answering a call to defend democracy and to stand against tyranny and who ISN'T moved and inspired by acts of such selflessness. This is the light Aristotle Onassis was speaking of and these are the stories we should be sharing...
But it doesn't stop at the International Legion of Territorial Defense as those who can't necessarily fight find other ways to show support for the people of Ukraine. For instance in Berlin thousands showed up at the train station to greet Ukrainian refugees, many of these people were holding whiteboards welcoming families or individuals who needed shelter and offering rooms in their homes... perfect strangers opening their doors to strangers in a time of need.
And then there was this...a photo of strollers that were left at a train station in Poland by Polish mothers who knew that there would be Ukrainian refugees arriving and that some of them would be mothers who were forced to leave behind things like strollers for the children.
If Aristotle Onassis was right in saying that in our darkest moments we must focus on the light...then we must continue to focus on the good...on the kindness of strangers and on the hope of humanity and the stories I've just shared seemed like a pretty good place to start.
"The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity."~ Leo Tolstoy