I was texting with a friend of mine in America yesterday. He shared with me his perspective which I wrote up here. One thing we both reckon, there are some much tougher times coming in 2024.

In America one can make a 5.5% guaranteed return on bonds, so why would a person invest in the stock market which is risky and volatile. And this thinking is why stock prices have dropped so significantly.

From what I understand around half the stock market is propped up by a bunch of big tech stocks, like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla and Alphabet (Google). If one of these were to come off, it would have a big affect on the overall market. I am no expert here, so I could be wrong.

America is now spending more on interest repayments than they spend on the military, say, and old < 1% bonds are maturing and being replaced with 5.5% bonds. America can’t afford the interest, so what do they do? They borrow more money in the form of new bonds to pay for the existing ones. And so expenses keep going up, but Congress refuses to raise taxes, so the deficit keeps growing.

This scheme of borrowing from future productivity worked in the past, but it only works if the economy keeps growing faster than the debt interest. The economy isn’t growing fast enough any more so things are volatile. And interest rates are going to keep going up until Inflation is tamed and that still hasn’t happened. Also, fewer people are paying taxes. The IRS have said they were “surprised” at how little they made in the last year. So many people have retired early. Or died.

My take on it, as always, is that greed has led to this point. Why are the taxes of the rich not raised, for example? It is well publicized that during the pandemic the rich got much richer and the masses needed all kinds of aid to stay afloat.

And then there is this maniac – if he becomes President of America again I think the world will wobble big time. This lunatic has divided America and he is angry and vengeful. God help us all if becomes the President again.

No one would have believed
In the last years of the nineteenth century
That human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space
No one could have dreamed that we were being scrutinized
As someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water
Few men even considered the possibility of life on other planets
And yet, across the gulf of space
Minds immeasurably superior to ours
Regarded this Earth with envious eyes
And slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us

This is from the opening of Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. I have the vinyl records somewhere in the cupboard and I also have a couple of sets of the CDs. This opening text was narrated by Richard Burton. A creative masterpiece. And yes, no one wants to believe that our free world could be attacked. That evil wants to burn it down to the ground. And this is what is happening right now. We don’t have to wait for Mars.

Ukraine, Israel and South Africa are at war. Tragically, SA has statistics for a country at war. The murder rate is insane and violence is a way of life. It is very very sad. And then there are bombs, tanks, canons, and guns firing non-stop in Ukraine, and now, we have the same devastation unfolding in Israel. Evil is spreading. I will bet that WW III is not far away.

How did the world get to this point?! Sure, there is a lot of evil out there, and it appears to be spreading. But I don’t believe that the masses are evil. The reality is that there are some twisted and unhinged leaders and dictators on our planet. Like that madman from North Korea, who has nuclear weapons. I would not be surprised if Kim Jong Un attacked South Korea, who doesn’t have nuclear weapons.

Corruption and perverted capitalism are the seeds of this evil. That is what I believe. Taken to new levels by people like Trump, Putin, etc. But it is not just these mumsers, it is everywhere, including in Israel, which is now in all the news. Israel took its eye off the ball. They have their own corruption, greed and in-fighting to deal with, and they were fast asleep as to the real problems. Greed sits at the center of all of this. This is what I believe too.

Greedy, corrupt, selfish people have brought us to this point. Sadly, I don’t believe there is a solution. I can’t see the greedy suddenly become a whole lot kinder en masse. And all this money making and taking, has left America, for example, weak. The selfishness is peaking and so is the lack of compassion. This is probably why America is so divided. It was easy for a lunatic like Trump to stir up the neglected masses. And the same goes for many other parts of the world. Russia, on the other hand, is more about brainwashing, but for sure, the masses there have so little to lose, so little self-respect. It is easy for a madman like Putin to fire them up. And if they don’t comply they simply get sent to Siberia.

Don’t get me wrong. I am selfish too. We are all selfish. But there are levels that most won’t go beyond. Unfortunately, it only takes a few with power to push us over the edge.

America used to set the pace in the world. Not anymore. Their inward focus and weakness is clear to China and to Russia. Putin, for example, is constantly seeing how far he can push things. And he will keep on taking chances. And by doing so, it is giving other dictators the confidence to also try get away with evil. Hamas is an example of evil that saw weakness and made its move.

I believe war is on Europe’s doorstep. If Ukraine falls, God forbid, then WW III will be upon us. But it could also start somewhere else. North Korea may be the catalyst. Or perhaps China will invade Taiwan. Who knows any more. But anything is possible.

In Ukraine the people there are most likely mentally equipped for WW III. I think the same goes for Israel. And I would argue, in South Africa too. Phew, I am therefore very well prepared. But Americans, for example, are not. They are fast asleep, in my view. They spend their time on so much rubbish. Just turn on the news any day of the week. The writing is on the wall.

My friend Guy wrote this text. It is highly compelling.

The Israeli connection to China’s World domination 

As the world watches what happens in Israel, many would like it to seem like a Hamas / Israel conflict. The simple truth carries a much larger global impact.

My abilities and training always were around understanding trends and movements. Those far from the naked eye. The “whys” most people won’t take the time to ask or understand.

For years I have been monitoring the situation in Israel. For the last 2 years, like most of the world, I’ve been monitoring the situation in Ukraine. And living in South Africa for nearly 15 years motivated me to understand the way of China. 

And you know what? It all connects. I will work backwards to connect these threads:

Israel and Hamas: Hamas is funded and fueled by Iran who also finances Hezbollah and not only helped plan, but last week “green lighted” the attack on Israel. This conflict has gone on for years under the public guise to wipe Israel from the face of this earth under religious fanaticism. As all hate fueled conflict, fanaticism is the veil of those who seek power to manipulate those who embrace it.

Here is another:

Ukraine and Russia: One dictator decides he wants the old USSR to come to life. He wants to create another empire. He believes he can do it. The West knows that Ukraine is strategic to Europe. We will come back to that, with a broader China-Russia context. 

And yet another one. The crazy one: 

North Korea: They have nuclear weapons. Kim Jong Un threatens the East: Japan and Taiwan. But is also threatened by democracy and American capitalism. 

Of course, then there are BRICS: (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), an economic force currently that is challenging America. BRICS is a powerful alliance as it dominates 3 of the world’s continent with a massive emphasis in Asia and are all challenged by democracy. 

When you look at all of four elements, the one common denominator that ties them together on all fronts is China.

On the BRICS front, all countries apart from China have very low credit ratings, which makes it very difficult for them to borrow dollar-based money. The interest rates are high. So, they turn to China who can lend them in Yuan or even grant them cash without much impact. In return, China holds them to an economical dependency, or economical ransom. These countries must abide to China’s wishes through financial pressures that they apply. The result is control on major resources around the world: mining, infrastructure, power, food and water with minimal investment or risk.

On the other front you have China, Iran, Russia and North Korea. I have decided to coin them as CIRN. 

While BRICS is an economics alliance, CIRN is an alliance of chaos and unrest. 

The Chinese continues to influence and manipulate the other 3 countries by supporting and embellishing to their strengths and their desires while fueling their fears.

Putin wants his empire. Iran wants Islamic dominance in the Middle East, which requires the elimination of Israel / Zionism. And North Korea, well, this guy is a bit on the crazy side but will only continue to hold power as a totalitarian dictator.

CIRN is an interesting alliance. More like a suicide squad consisting of the bully, the fanatics, the crazy and the diplomats, China. In CIRN, China keeps their hands clean and lets the rest cause noise and damage. 

Does China hate Israel. Of course not. Do they hate Ukraine, of course not. Do they care about these countries. Of course not. 

Do they care about BRICS and CIRN? Yes, for as long as they serve their purpose of global economic and political destabilization while strengthening China. 

And that brings me to the point where I believe this all connects. 

For a long while China has wanted to demolish the American dominance in the world. They have mentioned, more than once, that the dependency on the dollar is an issue (I would agree but it is a topic for another time). They want to challenge the status quo and create an economy that is based on Yuan. 

And they know what they’re doing. In simple terms, the West feels it can play chess with China while China plays Go with them. And they are likely to win. 

China has 3 milestones it wants to achieve:

1. Disruption of American influence
2. Disruption of world economy and democracy
3. Financial gains in the short and the long runs

The easy targets to achieve these goals are Ukraine, Israel, South Africa, Taiwan and Brazil. These countries drag the US, UN, and NATO into conflicts that make them spend resources like money, food, energy while stilting innovation and distracts the westernized world from Chinese ambition. 

They are also benefiting from American investments that can be damaged if they misplay their hands (cyber being one of those through the different groups in CIRN).

So, we have here a master puppeteer that pulls so many strings at the same time, playing Go “the long game”, with one agenda in mind: create a world independent from the dollar and any American influence, wanting to create a new world order as the only global superpower. 

Don’t get me wrong, the American way has many weaknesses and has many caveats, some of which I simply don’t like. Years of unrest in various regions for profiteering or bumbling even the best of intentions. But I prefer this way any day, any time, than one of Chinese world order. 

In my humble opinion, if the world stands a chance to stop to China’s plans, they must win the Indians’ and Saudis’ hearts and minds. Especially as the US has lost its influence over Africa and still spends a fortune of time and money on Pakistan / Afghanistan foreign matters, which are a mere diversion in China’s global plan.

The world is suffering from major unrest due to one major master puppeteer disrupting economies and peace – China. And Israel is just one of 5 of them being the manipulated and now, attacked. 

Oh, if you are religious (I am) the days of Gog and Magog and Armageddon are here. And if you like other prophecies, Nostradamus mentioned that the next world war would be between the East and the West. It looks like we are about to have both…

If we stand a chance, we must have ruthless accountability and if we seek the larger picture, it becomes obvious that this attack has much larger global implications.

This text from Prof. Timothy Synder is simply brilliant. Terror and counter-terror. A reflection on Hamas and Israel.

I want to share a thought about terror and counter-terror, prompted by the Hamas attacks and the dilemmas Israel faces.  It is not based on regional knowledge but does draw from scholarly work on the politics of terror and insurgency.  It is not so much a take on specific events as a general reminder of the larger shape such events can take.

For the victim, terror is about what it is. For the terrorist, it is about what happens next.

Terror can be a weapon of the weak, designed to get the strong to use their strength against themselves.  Terrorists know what they are going to do, and have an idea what will follow. They mean to create an emotional situation where self-destructive action seems like the urgent and only choice.

When you have been terrorized, the argument that I am making seems absurd; the terrorists can seem to you to be raving beasts who just need punishment.

Yet however horrible the crime, it usually does not bespeak a lack of planning. Usually part of the plan is to enrage.

Americans have fallen for this. 9/11 was a successful terrorist attack because we made it so.  Regardless of whether or not its planners and perpetrators lived to see this, it achieved its main goal: to weaken the United States.  Without 9/11, the United States presumably would not have invaded Iraq, a decision which led to the death of tens of thousands of people, helped fund the rise of China, weakened international law, and undid American credibility. 9/11 was a contributing cause to American decisions that caused far more death than 9/11 itself did. But the point here is that 9/11 facilitated American decisions that hurt America far more than 9/11 itself did.

On 9/13/2001, I dropped my planned lecture on east European history and spoke entirely about terror and counter-terror, along these lines. I was worried, but did not imagine then just how well the provocation would work. The invasion of Iraq was a disaster that arose from many sources; but one of them was the logic of terror — and indeed its exploitation by people who wanted a war in Iraq anyway.

In evaluating what Hamas has done, it is important to remember that the atrocious crimes are not (or are not only) ends in themselves.  They are utterly horrible and deserving of every condemnation, but they are not mindless. Unlike Israelis, who are shocked and feel they must urgently act, Hamas has been working out this scenario for years. The people carrying out the bestial crimes follow a plan that anticipates an Israeli reaction. 

Classically, a terrorist provokes a state in order to generate so much suffering among his own people that they will take the terrorist’s side indefinitely.

I won’t claim to know what Hamas expects from Israel, nor what Israel should do.  That would be a matter for people with the languages and expertise to read and analyze the documents and the data. My point is that it is always worth asking, in such situations, whether you are following the terrorist’s script. If what you want to do is what your enemy wants you to do, someone is mistaken.  It might be your enemy.  But it also might be you. 

PS.  I am conscious that the cool tone of this thread might seem jarring in the context of human suffering.  I regret this.

PPS. I anticipate the objection that Israeli state policy has been designed to provoke Palestinians. I agree that the strong can also terrorize the weak.

I did not believe that Elon Musk actually put this out there, and then I went online to look for myself and there it was. How can someone be this miserable, this clueless and so lacking in class.

Just because someone is rich does not mean they are decent. It is such a sad world we live in. What has happened to humanity?!

Is this fool really so desperate for attention. It is truly mind boggling that someone of this sort of influence will post something like this.

My one friend in the US text’d me this a few moments ago, “What’s almost more disgusting is the 256,000 likes. He’s become super right wing. It’s a very right wing thing to be anti-Ukraine right now.”

This is making my stomach turn.

I got a bunch of comments from some friends this morning and I am updating this short blog post. Sounds like no one in Ukraine will be buying a Tesla car after this. My friends in Kyiv are all disgusted.

“He’s just upset that Ukraine is getting more taxpayers money than Tesla is. He is the king of subsidy sucking so ironically that meme is really about him.”

“It’s interesting that it’s taken this amount of money to show who he really is.”

“What an idiot. He has shown his true colours. Totally disgusting!!”

“This guy has no boundaries and no moral code.”

The Bunster is 3 years old today. Wow, what a journey this little man has had already. Talk about a wild ride, not that he will ever remember any of it. But we sure do have a lot of pics and videos. One day we can show him how his first 3 years were.

Being a dad is magical and exhausting. And yes, I am just another dad. No big deal. I know. Please excuse me. I do love this new dimension to life, but throw in the war, and everything else, and, well, we are seriously tired just about all the time. Marta is a trooper – I am very lucky to be married to her. The Bun has one helluva cool mom. He is lucky this little man.

I feel confident that the Bun man is nurtured and loved to the maximum. We are hands on parents and we don’t outsource his days to a TV set. He is active, and we walk with him, talk with him, ride bikes and scooters, build things with Lego, learn magic (well, er, I am trying to teach him some stuff, but he eats the cards), read books (in English and Ukrainian) and more. He is often not easy on us our busy little Bun and he still does not sleep through the night. But we love him too bits and he makes us smile, and sometimes cry.

I imagine a purpose of every parent is to leave the world in a better state for the next generation but it looks like we are all failing. What a mad world the Bun will grow up in – it often scares me. Between the wired kids and the digital devices everywhere, and the violence, this evil war, toxic social media, a hotter planet … it is a very different world to when I was a kid.

The war has been so traumatic and it is not ending any time soon. We just want to return to where Bun was born, to his home city, Kyiv. The devastation of this insane war can be seen in the divorce rate in Ukraine which has more than doubled since the start of the full scale invasion. And then there are the children that Russia has “taken”. Hundreds and thousands of innocent young souls. It is frightening to think about this. And the world just watches, and no one can do anything to stop it. We do thank God the Bunster knows nothing of this evil.

We sometimes talk about a brother or sister for Bun. But we would only ever consider this when the war ends. For now, the Bun man is our focus, and we are doing all we can to try give him a good life experience. So far so good, we think … war and all.

I remember my first visit to Kyiv, which was over 15 years ago. I remember the friendly, innocent young guys working at the hotel. At that stage of the world DVDs were still a thing. I found some of our movies, by chance, in a DVD shop at the bottom level of the Globus mall by Independence Square. That shop is no longer there. DVDs are not something one can easily find these days in shops. I remember asking this one guy at the hotel about trying to find a particular movie. He said that I should just give him a memory stick and he would put it onto the stick for me. And I discovered that the word “copyright” in Eastern Europe was interpreted as the “right to copy”.

There are rules, like the 10 Commandments, which if everyone followed, would mean the world would be a more peaceful place. And then there are international laws, formed by governments, which we all think are important, but if some countries don’t follow these laws then we let it go. So what if Eastern Europe copies software, music, movies, etc. Corporations can’t really do anything about it so they live with it. But when one country starts sending missiles to its neighbour and killing innocent people, week after week, somehow this too is something everyone just lives with. What if those missiles suddenly were sent to your city?

Last night Ukraine was hit by so many missiles. The trauma, the death, the destruction, just doesn’t seem to ever stop. And it is amazing that the world cannot stop it. What is the point of the United Nations, for example. Some countries don’t follow the rules and because it is just Ukraine, so what. But what happens if it is suddenly meant that France or Canada, say, were attacked by deadly missiles. Would the world watch or would there be serious action?!

Here is an excerpt from one of the online news channels from Ukraine – this is from last night. And this is taking place every week, often many times a week.

What is currently known about the consequences of the missile attack and shelling:

▪️ In Kyiv, several high-rise buildings, a service station, a gas pipe, and an institution were damaged by rocket fragments. Seven people were injured, including two children.

▪️ In Kharkiv, six hits in Slobodsky district. Two people are wounded.

▪️ A missiles hits a civilian infrastructure facility in Cherkasy. Five people are wounded. At least one person is under the rubble.

▪️ In Kherson, Russians shelled residential neighborhoods. Two people were killed, five wounded, and seven others injured.

▪️ Missiles hit Rivne. Details are still unknown.

▪️ In Lviv region, three Russian missiles hit Drohobych. Two hit an industrial facility and one hit a private two-story warehouse.

Here in Poland people are worried. If Ukraine falls, God forbid, then the Russian border will be pushed to Poland and if you think that the evil will suddenly stop there then you are mad. Evil is exactly that, evil. It doesn’t have boundaries. It will continue to spread, like a cancer. Putin will keep testing the weakness of the West and I would not be surprised if he suddenly attacked the Baltics next.

Russia has never played by the rules, so if you think they have limits to their evil then you are wrong.

Tomorrow evening Craig and I are going to the train station in Kyiv and we are heading to Wroclaw. I am leaving my home, again. I have now done this a few times and each time it hurts like hell. God knows if I will be able to ever return. I believe I will, and I want to. I believe all of us will return next year. But again, only God knows. I don’t want to leave tomorrow but I need to get back to Marta and Bunster. It is a sad feeling to leave Kyiv, and I also feel guilty.

The first time we left was the day after the war started. Something none of us will ever forget. At that stage we were terrified and in shock. I am not in shock anymore but the sadness is still there. But I am also inspired and high on life. It is a roller coaster of emotions and it is very hard to describe this feeling. One needs to understand Kyiv and one needs to be here to experience the magic and miracle that is Ukraine. The world predicted that Kyiv would fall in 3 days, and it never happened. Then the Russians were going to freeze everyone to death during the winter, and that never happened. Ukraine is strong and brave. This is the story of David and Goliath. But this story is far from over. Yes, there is a lot of stress about the future. Russia has endless money and way too many zombies that they keep sending to the meat grinder. Looking only at the numbers, things do not look good for Ukraine. But, Ukraine knows why they are fighting. They have the support from much of the normal world, and they have truth on their side. Please God the truth wins out – it generally does. One think I keep wondering: what do Russian soldiers think when they kill Ukrainians. And it is not just Ukrainian soldiers they kill, but also, so many civilians.

I hope I will be able to come back again soon. Maybe Marta will return home with me on the next train ride I take from Wroclaw to Kyiv. I know she desperately wants to return home. Wroclaw has been good to us and we can’t complain. Bunster is in a good kindergarten, the city is kind and pretty, and the fridge is full of food. So many people are fighting, and dying, so that we can one day return to Kyiv. When you are in Kyiv everyone speaks about the soldiers. The soldiers are the reason I can sit in my home in Kyiv and write this. God protect them all.

We have had a busy time here in Kyiv over the past 6 weeks filming interviews and capturing moods and texture. Our film project is in the last stretch and soon we will see the full film come together. It is going to be a powerful and important piece of work and we hope it will showcase the magic that we all experience here in Kyiv. In our group of people that are featured in the film, there are now 6 new Ukrainians. People from our film are getting married in the war, and some are having babies. Life goes on, bomb shelters, air raid sirens, and all.

There is a lot of hardship still to come and the trauma is going to last for generations. And still, with all of this pain, people want to be here and they want to make Ukraine grow and prosper. Corruption is the other war, the internal battle. It is on everyone’s lips. Corruption is everywhere in the world, and here it is one of the painful legacies from the old Soviet system. I believe Mr. Zelensky is doing all he can to fight corruption and that things are slowly getting better.

I love this city. It is my home. The two film editors, Janine and Jol, who just left Kyiv, have fallen in love with this place. It is far from perfect, but it just all works. The soul, the creativity, the laughter, the eccentricity, the beauty … I knew they would not want to leave. And there is a war going on. They experienced missiles being shot down, air raid sirens and all the stresses that have now become the new normal. And with all of that, they would stay on if they could.

We are confident that the film will present all that they have experienced. Ukraine deserves a better conversation in the world. This has been the motivation for the film, going back many many years. There are so many stupid stereotypes when it comes to Ukraine, and a different story needs to be told. That is why we are working like crazy to get this done. We want to share a different take on Ukraine. We believe that a story about modern Ukrainians will capture people’s imaginations in a big way.

Kyiv is a gift for the world. This city is a well kept secret and if the world allows Ukraine to fall then the world loses something so special and very important. Ukraine is a brains trust, a creative hub, a massive food producer, a beautiful land, and so much more. I discovered late in life, during the war actually, that my father’s parents were from Lemberg (Lviv) and that we have Ukrainian roots. This is my home and I can’t wait to return. I am sad and sorry that I have to leave tomorrow, again.

This war is pure evil. Russia keeps on terrorizing Ukraine, day after day. This is terrorism, and the world does not do enough to stop this evil. If Ukraine falls (which I don’t believe will happen) then this evil will not stop and then God help everyone. Ukraine is fighting for the world here. Ukraine is fighting for freedom. Freedom does not come for free. The Western world seems to have forgotten that. Ukraine is paying the ultimate price for freedom. The world could and should help Ukraine more.

We are busy shooting material in Kyiv for our Ukraine film project which we started in 2018 and will complete by December. Two from our small team are here from South Africa and another team member is joining us next week. We are on our feet 7 to 8 hours a day, in and around the city, capturing all kinds of moods, textures, emotions. And of course, sometimes air raid sirens go off, and there is an edge to everything. While we are all together filming things, we are also walking and talking, and this week we have been discussing the parallels between South Africa and Ukraine. Both places are not living normally. People are stressed and the future is uncertain.

The reasons for the uncertainty are very different of course, but the end result is the same. Anxiety, stress, fear. These are not good for the soul. Not at all. And this is not a way to raise a family. Many people are leaving SA, for years and years now, and it is not stopping. And in Ukraine many people have lost their homes, and millions have left the country since the start of the war. In Ukraine’s case, most want to come back. That is my understanding.

We were walking in the beautiful Mariinsky Park here in the center of Kyiv one evening earlier this week. It was after 9 pm and it was getting dark. We all commented how we would never do this back in SA. And here, in Kyiv, we have no fear of being mugged.

There are over 10 people in my circle of friends/colleagues that have been killed in SA over the past 20 years because of the violent crime crises. When people in Kyiv ask me about life in SA and the subject of violent crime comes up, they are always shocked. I thank God that I have never had a violent incident happen to me, but my mother, brother, so many friends, co-workers, etc. have all had bad experiences. When people here hear this they say to me things like, “Do you watch too many Hollywood movies or maybe you do drugs ???” They simply can’t believe that this is reality. “How do people live this ?!” I would get asked. That is a very good question.

Here in Kyiv nothing is normal, and yet, like in SA, life goes in. People go to work, go out to eat, go shopping. People are getting married, having babies, and doing what normal people do. But everyone by now has a war story in Ukraine. Like in SA, everyone has a crime story. Sadly, most have more than one story of violence. And in Kyiv, everyone you talk to knows someone who has been injured or killed in this evil war.

The two film editors from the team were at my apartment earlier this week and we met my one neighbour as we all got into the elevator together. I have met this neighbour a few times. She is warm and friendly. A mom of 3, and they have a small, cute dog. We ask her if she knows anyone who has been injured in the war. And she says her best friend just lost her husband who was killed in the army. Anyone you speak to has first hand experience of the pain of this evil war. And everyone in SA has suffered because of the violent crime nightmare. And it is a nightmare. SA has statistics for a country at war.

The most important question we are asking our closing part of the film, “How does one plan for the future with so much uncertainty?” Not an easy situation for anyone to be in. People here are tired and anxious. The same in SA. Again, this is not how life is meant to be. And having said that, you hear more laughter than ever here in Kyiv. People make jokes all the time. The sense of humour here has always been brilliant, and the laughter has not stopped. But there is a nervousness to the laughter, and everyone prays this nightmare war will end soon. Same in SA. Please God all this killing and violence comes to an end. It is not the way to live. As my one friend summed it up, “There is too much fear in the world. How did we get here? This isn’t the way it’s meant to be. I just pray that we find a better way.”