For My Russian Friends

     I have a lot of friends in Russia. I do not know their names or anything about them, but people from Russia continue to look at this blog, and I like to think it is because they want to build bridges of oneness with their neighbors around the world. 

    I made this arrangement to display some pieces made by Russian artisans and a book based on a Russian folktale. My granddaughter loves this story and another book that I gave her called Rechenka's Eggs. Russian culture is rich in folklore, literature, art, and dance. I have a niece who went to The Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute  in Moscow to study drama. I also have a friend whose daughter worked at Anglo-American School of St. Petersburg and brought back a Russian husband! I feel that I have many connections to Russia even though I have never been there myself. 

    I grew up hearing that the Soviet Union was an enemy of the United States. Even as a child I knew this did not mean that the Russian people were our enemy - only that our country's leaders were at odds with one another. As a young teenager I wrote a letter to the editor about the Space Race and how it would make more sense for Americans and Soviets to work together on space exploration. During the Nuclear Arms Race in the early 1980s, Mark and I worked with Peace Links and other peace organizations to end that insanity. We saved our money for a trip to the Soviet Union, hoping that we could build bridges of peace by meeting some Russian people. We signed up for a Russian class at the University of East Tennessee in the spring of 1983. We didn't get very far since we had to start by learning an entirely new alphabet!

    On September 1, 1983,  Korean Air Lines Flight 007, was shot down by a Soviet Sukhoi Su-15 interceptor on its flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, Alaska. Owing to a navigational mistake made by the crew, the airliner had drifted from its original planned route and flew through Soviet prohibited airspace. All 269 passengers and crew aboard were killed, tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States soared to greater heights, and our travel plans were squelched. Mark and I took a bouquet of flowers to our travel agent and used the money we had saved to buy a piano. 

    I believe that Russia is experiencing a spiritual awakening. As more and more people open themselves to their highest light, peace and harmony will come to Russia. I am praying for you, my dear Russian friends, that you will be at peace with your neighbors, and within yourselves.