Standing With Ukraine

This image is a sunflower. Under ultraviolet light, a sunflower’s colours become much more diverse and vibrant – adding blue to the yellow, among other colours. The national colours of Ukraine hidden within their most symbolic flower. Slava Ukraini!

Image copyright Don Komarechka. Caption also by Don.

---

by Skip Cohen
 
It's Sunday morning, and I'm miles away from topics like marketing and business, but that's what Sunday Morning Reflections are all about. Over the years, I've done my best not to let the News into the blog. But, like most of you, I've been watching the horror story unfolding in Ukraine, and I've found myself often thinking about a "what-if" scenario here in the U.S.

The destruction, madness, pain and sadness all hit home for me, but it was the interviews the news media shared that got to me the most. It's the stories of displaced mothers and children as "Dad" goes off to fight a war that dominates my thoughts.

And while Ukraine has always seemed so far away and on the other side of the world, one of my best friends, Don Komarechka, moved to Bulgaria last year. On his Facebook page, he wrote:

I Stand with Ukraine

I have been silent on much of social media due to big projects, but I must break the silence for this post. What is happening in Ukraine at the moment deserves the attention of every person on the planet, and more than that, action. The war crimes being committed by Putin's Russia are not only traumatizing the entire Ukrainian population, they are designed to evoke terror. With the actions over the past week, Russia has become a Terrorist State, the most powerful such entity in the world.

He went on to write...

I now live in Eastern Europe. The other day we went for a walk on the beach. I stared out across the Black Sea, knowing what conflicts were unfolding on the other side. This is not a defense of Ukraine, but a fight against a tyrannical autocracy. Ask the citizens of Georgia, Syria, Chechnya, Moldova, Ukraine and other nearby nations. This must stop, as it is spreading.

Don's shared his perspective much better and in more detail than I ever could...here's the link to his FB page, and it's worth reading everything he wrote.  

But the situation in Ukraine also took me to toughts about my Dad's generation and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Before my Dad passed away, I took him on Honor Flight to D.C. I've shared a number of posts in the past about the event.​

"If you can read this, thank a teacher. 
If you can read this in English, thank a veteran."
From Honor Flight

​That quote above never hit me quite as hard as it does today. We're here in the US, wrapped in challenges far less life-threatening than an outright direct attack on our country. Nevertheless, we live in a global economy with friends all over the world, and this is a fight for all of us.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Ukraine, but along with it goes an unstoppable appreciation for my Dad, our son, friends who have served, and all our veterans focused on the freedom we appreciate today...and too often take for granted.

Wishing everyone a great day ahead. When you go for one of those eleven-second therapeutic hugs with people you care the most about - think of how important they are in your life. Cherish their love and friendship.

​Happy Sunday...or Monday if you're on the other side of the world!