“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

A humanist at heart, it is hard to imagine what he would’ve thought if he had lived today. Dismayed by the lack of records documenting Russian domestic life at the time, his majestic novel is filled with vivid descriptions of that life, an homage to his land and people and the disruption that the Napoleonic wars brought about.

That very domesticity that he so praised, the effortless pleasure of everyday life, when disrupted, is a calamity to us as species and a shame not easily erased.

It is heartbreaking to witness that hundreds of years later, we still find ourselves destroying what we build, mocking cultures and heritage, recklessly devouring the life of others.

Peace needs to be celebrated in its most pure and simple form even when in war; in fact, especially then. That’s when the little things become the most precious.

A stroll in a quiet city park,

Immersing yourself in the beauty of art seen through local values,

Going out with friends and sharing stories,

The brisk walk from work to home, on streets too familiar for the eye to notice details.

Let’s not forget that people are people independent of nationality or race; kindness and wisdom are bred and nourished everywhere, while despotism is fought against even in the despot’s own backyard. We can only admire those who dare to stand and defend their land and those who, even though part of an attacking nation, raise their voices and speak their outrage in the name of a better humanity.