About home, war, and love

This blog post was supposed to be about my recent change in lifestyle, my move to Portugal, and the start of a nomadic chapter in my life and business. I was going to write about the contradictory feelings I had on the flight here – the excitement and wonder: Is this the right thing to do?!, and my plans for the business. It was supposed to be a lighthearted message along the lines of “if you can believe it, you can make it happen”.

Then, war broke out, threatening the very sovereignty that enables so many of us to follow our dreams of not only a country but the individual. Writing about aimless nomadic travel while there are hundreds of thousands, soon-to-be millions of people being uprooted and forced to flee their home country, Ukraine, isn’t right.

I am horrified and I am deeply moved. Horrified at the senseless terror with which Putin is attacking the very values of the modern world. Pillars of our democracy - sovereignty, unity, freedom of speech are being attacked. I’m horrified looking at the map - the war is a mere 16 driving hours away from my home and my family. Horrified because we don’t know how and when this will be stopped.

Moved when seeing the deep deep and unconditional love the Ukrainian people are fighting back with. The love for their country and the commitment to their rights. Moved when watching the news and seeing the world community unite to stand with democracy and freedom. I’m amazed and moved when I see President Zelensky on TV and social media, standing with his people.

When US President Biden offered to evacuate him, he responded: “I need ammunition, not a ride.” And he shall receive - literal ammunition and that which can’t be measured in numbers: love, support, belief…and the strength and actions that love, support, and belief can unleash.

The people of Ukraine are committed to what they’re fighting for and they know that their freedom is worth fighting for. They’re led by a leader who fiercely loves his country. It’s that love that has the Western world unite like it has never before. Around the world, politicians, citizens, private companies, social workers are standing up to Putin and standing, united, behind Ukraine. No matter their ideology or party.

Fierce love can unite.

Fierce love is the ultimate weapon.

Fierce love comes from within.

Fierce love starts within.

YOU are fierce love.

So let’s talk about love and belonging.

Many are losing their homes right now and have no idea if and when they’ll be able to return home. It’s tragic and, sadly, it’s not a new phenomena and won’t be the last time people are being displaced. War, oppression, and climate change will have a lot of people flee their homes for quite some time to come. And so, we have to sit and consider the meaning of “home” and what that means, for we can’t lose love when we leave behind our home.

In the German language, two words describe home: “Heimat” and “Zuhause.”

Zuhause is where you live, it’s where you come home to after a vacation, where you sleep.

Heimat is where you come from. It’s where you are headed. And it’s where you are accepted, it’s where love resides, it’s where you belong.

Zuhause can be rebuilt. Heimat, you’ve got to find within.

Belonging and Heimat are the same and they come from love.

Whether you’re traveling nomadically like me or because you are escaping war, Heimat can quickly become elusive. Especially, if you tag the sense of Heimat onto an external source. In doing so, before long, you’ll feel like you don’t belong anywhere and aren’t loved by anyone. At that point, a sense of not belonging or not feeling accepted sets in. Hate can now spread inside and out.

And when one doesn’t feel like they belong, one might attack another’s individualism and sovereignty.

We all have got to ask ourselves - and act upon - this:

What if we could foster that sense of belonging inside ourselves, where we can always carry it with us?

What willpower, fierce commitment, and strength would be unleashed by that kind of a love? What would become possible?!

Who could you protect and uplift, with fierce loving?

How would you direct your business differently, with fierce loving?

Which business partners would and wouldn’t you engage, when guided by fierce loving?

Would you wait for the perfect moment before you take action, when in touch with fierce loving?

How would you act, NOW, with fierce loving?

Love is the ultimate weapon, in war, in business, in life. President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people show just how powerful love can be.

Keep on loving.

No matter who you are, where you are, regardless of what your story is, you are worthy of being loved and of loving yourself.

Let’s, as private people and businesses, all not just stand in solidarity but act in solidarity:

Big private companies like Apple, Google, tech billionaire Elon Musk, Nike, and finally even sports - led by the International Olympic Committee - are leading the way in just how important it is to take a political stand, especially as private businesses that have such a large impact on society. These days, I’m personally grappling with re-defining what the larger purpose of my business, this blog post, the content I publish is in a world where the absence of love threatens war against humanity. That’s ok. I’ll get better. We all will. And we can do so together.

I send blessings with peace, love, support, and acceptance, and the hope that this can be stopped soon (and won’t spread) to the Ukrainian people and all those directly and indirectly affected by this war.

Peace and loving,

Dina