This is an edited version of @richardfu's Hellhound, offered as a humble tribute to the courage and resourcefulness of the people of Ukraine. Our friend @Denis Nazin lives in Kharkiv which is currently under attack, including civilian areas. More than 2.5 million Ukrainians have evacuated from the country in the past two weeks. Many more are trying to find a way out of cities that have been surrounded and are being bombed and shelled. Yesterday Denis wrote: "I was born and lived in Kharkov all my life. My parents arrived in Kharkov to learn and stayed here to live. They arrived in Kharkov when there were no borders, there were no Ukraine and Russia and another 15 separate countries. Was the USSR. It was all one country. "The fact is that a fratricide is happening. It is very, very sad." Today Denis wrote: "I am very pleased to hear your philosophy. Because I agree with you. Anger, rage, aggression, pride, envy, greed and other sins are a virus. They spread and are transmitted from person to person and from generation to generation like a terrible virus. We must fight for our souls. We must not allow this virus into our souls. This is our biggest battle. Our greatest enemies are not outside, our greatest enemies are within us. On this you are absolutely right! Only kindness will save our world! "Nature (God) never responds to us with malice. When a bomb hits the ground, many bombs don't grow on the ground. In place of the bomb crater, spring flowers grow. We must take an example from nature! And if we spread aggression and anger in response, we will destroy our planet. Only love and kindness will save the world." If you pray, please pray for Denis and his family. If you send a message to Denis, please translate it to Russian, since he can't easily access the translator. (Solution video here)
Thank you, @Denis Nazin , for those beautiful words. I shared them with my family and will remember them for a long time. Спасибо, Денис, за такие прекрасные слова. Я поделился ими со своей семьей и запомню их надолго.
The BBC writes: "Kharkhiv has suffered some of the heaviest Russian bombardment [yesterday], with videos showing streets completely bombed-out and many buildings flattened." I asked Denis if he is having any difficulty getting food and other necessities. He replied: "You don't have to worry about the groceries. We have humanitarian aid coming in and some stores have resumed supplying food. There is no problem with food at the moment. The only problem is that an accidental bomb or land mine could land in our house. Otherwise, all is well."
Here are the words of Denis's song: Listen to the voice of the Earth, my friend He sounds very softly all around He asks only one thing of you Peace Peace, the Earth needs peace. Peace, we all need peace. Hear the voice of the Earth, friends the soul will always hear it He asks only one thing of us all... Peace Hear the voice of the Earth with your soul He will never do evil to us Let us learn From the Earth
@Denis Nazin, when I watch or read the news, I see the rubble around that flower -- destruction and brutality. But my soul longs for that flower. So I will remember this image. It's particularly meaningful, perhaps, to those observing Lent now. I'm glad you were able to devote yourself to beautiful thoughts during a terrible time, and thank you for sharing them with us! Денис, когда я смотрю или читаю новости, я вижу завалы вокруг этого цветка - разрушение и жестокость. Но моя душа тоскует по этому цветку. Так я запомню этот образ. Особенно значимо это, пожалуй, для тех, кто в настоящее время соблюдает Великий пост. Я рад, что вы смогли посвятить себя прекрасным мыслям в страшное время, и спасибо, что поделились ими с нами!
