Today, nothing I am doing seems important. There is war in Europe. Yes, WAR. One big powerful country didn’t like what their tiny neighbour was doing and decided to invade. Imagine that for a moment: War in 2022. People are dying. Infrastructure destroyed. Economies in shatters. Even if you don’t give a rat’s ass about what happens between Russia and the Ukraine, we don’t even understand yet what this all means for the rest of the world. Like we didn’t have enough to worry about.

I’m supposed to keep my head down and do my work. But it’s hard. My heart is broken and I am angry has hell. My mind wanders. Germany isn’t far away from the action. These are not North American distances - Europe is small. I hear all those other people talking about the weather, about sports, about stupid trucks honking horns, and I wonder how nice it would be not to care. This morning on the radio, it wasn’t even mentioned in the news. Must be nice to be oblivious.

I realize that there isn’t much I myself can do. I can communicate my anger and frustration on the internet, which - while it is little - helps influence politicians and the general consensus in some ways. Demonstrations against the war, even inside Russia, are an important tool. Demonstrations were what brought down the iron curtain in the first place. Do not stay silent. Do not ignore.

If public outrage is not your thing you can contribute financially to help the affected people in the Ukraine. Doctors Without Borders is a good place to start.

And if prayer is your thing (it is mine) you can do that too.