A National Transformation

I told my Ukrainian instructor that the Ukrainians I meet today are the polar opposite of the Ukrainians I left in 1998. They are so enthusiastic, resourceful, self-reliant and just plain happy that I never thought it would be possible to effectuate such a change within a single lifetime.

It’s becoming very clear why Russians who didn’t change in this positive direction are so angry. They want to destroy what they can’t themselves be to avoid seeing daily reminders that a different kind of life is possible.

Participating in online events with Ukrainians who are in Ukraine (and usually in very harsh circumstances) is like being plugged into an energy source. People are luminous with a sense of purpose. I can’t support them emotionally because they are so full of life power that I invariably become a recipient of support. I talked to this older guy who escaped from Donetsk in 2014 and then from Bucha in 2022. You’ve heard about Bucha. This is a guy who’s seen terrible things. And he’s not only not crushed by it all but he radiates strength, capacity and purposefulness. A man in his late fifties, with a very middle-aged physique, soft-spoken and kind of shy but there’s such strength and tranquility at his core that it’s mesmerizing.

Gosh, I remember young people in the peaceful nineties who were so pathetic, miserable and incapable of using any opportunities that came their way. And then they were all transformed.

I asked the Ukrainian instructor how it happened, and she says this is the power of nationalism. People discovered their national consciousness, and it lit them up from inside.

I would never believe it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.