I continue to be amazed at the resiliency of the Ukrainians. The world has always had its bullies as far back in history as one can look. Hitler, Trump, and Putin are the most recent ones that come to mind. Children are often bullied at school. In our high tech world, they can even be bullied online through social media. While we may not think of them as bullies, the corporate giants – pharmaceutical, agricultural, petroleum, and financial giants that run our world, are also bullies. The common citizens are slaves to their manipulation. Even those in our government appear to belong to an elite group that sees itself separate from the people they are appointed to serve. People in general do not want to fight. They do not want war. They want to be left alone to live in peace.
I remember watching Popeye, a popular cartoon when I was growing up. Popeye constantly had to take on a big bully by the name of Pluto. Pluto was a big hulk of a man; twice the size of Popeye. By the end of the cartoon, Popeye always won the day (or the girl, Olive) and sang, “…cause I eats my spinach.” It was a subtle way to please the moms and give them hope that their children would eat their vegetables. If only it were that simple. Metaphorically at least, I believe the Ukrainians have eaten their spinach and I pray that they will win the day.
I imagine that there will always be bullies in the world. There will always be those who believe that they must take what they want because they have not learned that the world has provided enough for everyone. They act from greed and jealousy and fear because they believe their strength lies outside of themselves, in weapons or wealth. They do not understand that true strength comes from within. I believe that the Ukrainians have tapped that power that resides inside of them, in their hearts and in their souls. I do not know if I could match their bravery. I continue to pray for them. I know that if even a small percentage of the world is praying for them as well, we will be feeding them the metaphorical spinach to win the war. Their belief that they will win, and their refusal to show fear, multiplies their power by many times. They are an inspiration – if not to the rest of the world, they are to me.
