Forgiveness

I have been meaning to blog about my trip to England with my mom for two weeks, but now that I have a moment to do so, its going to have to wait. Instead, I want to take a moment and talk about something of greater depth.

Forgiveness.

FORGIVENESS.

I think that forgiveness is one of the most difficult things for humans to achieve. Maybe I should speak for myself. It can be extremely difficult for me. The temptation is to feel somehow empowered by the anger and the grudge. Instead, you are hurting yourself...not the person who you refuse to forgive.

I just finished watching Oprah (go ahead and groan...still I love her!). The show was all about forgiveness. The two featured guests were "sheros" who had every reason not to forgive, but instead chose forgiveness and even love.

The first was a woman who was shot in the head when two teenagers broke into her house to steal her car. She survived, but had to re-learn everything from swallowing to walking to speaking. She is now legally blind. This amazing woman has not only forgiven the boy who shot her, but regularly visits him and loves him like a son gone astray. She has not only freed herself to live again, but has changed the life of the guy who shot her and given him hope for himself and his future (of which he had none at the time of the incident).

The second lady was a victim in the 2005 London bombings. She lost 75% of her blood, her heart stopped 3 times and she had both of her legs amputated below the knee. She, too, has been able to forgive the suicide bombers who caused this tragedy. She is alive both physically, spiritually and emotionally.

Both are grateful for their "second lives" however different they are from the first. Neither wallow in "what ifs" or "whys".

They describe forgiveness as refusal to harbor negative thoughts and emotions and as "peace".

How much we all have to learn from these two woman. Think of the small things that we refuse to let go of in our daily lives. Maybe even some really big things that eat away at us. UN-forgiveness was described as a daily glass of poison that takes the joy of life away from us. Is it worth it? Short answer - no.

I wanted to share these thoughts, encourage everyone to work towards peace and forgiveness and to share this website.

The forgiveness Project

The lady who lived through the London Bombing is a member of this foundation. Individual forgiveness and peace is a first step towards international peace and unity. I never thought of it exactly this way, but I think it is really beautiful. Check it out.

the Netherlands

The next stop: Rotterdam, Holland - to visit a good friend of mine. And my trip was just in time to catch him before he moved to Switzerland and then started gallivanting around the world with his new job.

We didn't really take many pictures because my camera batteries were dead and I didn't have the right plug. But, here are a couple from the train going from Rotterdam to Amsterdam (where I flew out to London).

The train left at 6:30am, so we had beautiful morning sun

Emily and Luis

being silly

Had to take a picture of a windmill in Holland!

so, that's where it comes from! Who would have thunk?

Stockholm, Sweden with Zhena

After Estonia, I took a ferry across the Baltic sea to Stockholm, Sweden. My college roommate and very close friend, Zhena, lives there with her husband. It was so beautiful to see her and visit Stockholm.

We decided to take a boat tour around the city to see a few sites while I was there. Luckily, we got a gorgeous sunny day to do this trip (the next day when I went back to walk the city it was rainy and cold - not so nice!).

Here are a couple of pictures from my time with Zhena:

Spring is busting out all over Stockholm

I love tulips!

In downtown Stockholm

with Zhena in the boat

a view from the boat tour

ahhhhh

It got a little chilly at the Baha'i picnic in the park!

Estonia with Tea

My next move westward after Russia was Estonia. A good friend of mine, Tea, from university is Estonian and I couldn't come this close without a visit. So, this part of my journey changes from exploration to visits with friends.

The last time I visited Tea was four years ago. We had a marvelous time and she lived up to the reputation this time - what a great time it was.

First, entering Estonia I had such a sense of excitement to see her. I was greeted at the border by this nice castle:

Tea lives in Tartu, Estonia at the moment and the drive there was just beautiful. There had been snow here as well, but only small traces were left. The fields and houses became even more beautiful with the sunset.

Upon arriving in Tartu, I called Tea...which was a good thing because she was sound asleep after quite a week of end of semester celebrations. She and her friend Taavi came to pick me up at the bus station and we headed back to her apartment for snacks and talks.

The next day we walked around Tartu a little bit.

Here we are in front of her university there.

A beautiful Tea

Asian food for lunch

spring or winter?

And, of course, no visit to Estonia would be complete without a visit to her parents house. They live in the Estonian countryside and live the "simple life". Her father huts (and always sends me home with some yummy canned moose) and fishes. They have an outhouse and well. And my favorite part...bathing is done in the sauna. It wasn't sauna day, but we built a fire and made a sauna for ourselves anyway.

getting the fire wood for the sauna

building the fire for the hot water

While the sauna got hot, we took a walk around her town. What beautiful colors and vibrant greens. The weather did have trouble making up it's mind whether to be spring or winter!

in her garden

Tea by the old mill

the lake behind her house

The sauna was great. We even went down to the lake in the middle. It was too cold to get in fully, but we did splash ourselves with the icy water. (It's good for the pores, so I'm told...) And sleep after a sauna is always wonderful. I slept like a baby on the second floor of their old farm house nestled between the blanket and the sheepskin and feeling as clean as ever from the sauna experience.

The next day, after we helped her parents clear some brush, her dad made the smoked fish that I LOVE! The first time I was a little nervous to eat it right out of the skin with my fingers. But, since that time, I've had such interesting culinary adventures that I dove in with great excitement this time. Yum!

smoked fish with the smoker in the background

And after our delicious lunch of fish, we hitch hiked back to Tartu. (I love hitch hiking!)

What a wonderful (albeit short) visit with a wonderful friend!

What a difference a day makes!



I woke up on my second day in St.Petersburg to a crisp clear day. What a change...and quite a welcome one at that! This beautiful day was May 1st, international day for workers/laborers.

Obviously, under the communist regime, this was a very significant day in Russia. According to a Russian lady I met, attendance at the celebrations for this day were mandatory. This year, there was not a big celebration scheduled in St.Petersburg (though apparently there was a significant one in Moscow). However, upon leaving my hostel and starting to walk down a sun-lit street, I happened upon a May 1st demonstration. To my surprise, this was a pro-communist demonstration. I had never really stopped to think that there would be people who were actually in favor of the communism that Russia had for so long. However, old, young, male and female alike were marching in this peaceful demonstration.

During my time watching, I was handed a anti-American/West pamphlet (in Russian, of course) as well as a ribbon commemorating Russia's victories in WWII. I later had friends translate some of the Russian for me to help in my understanding. Very interesting. There was also some anti-Estonian slogans due to the removal of a statue of a communist leader from Tallinn, Estonia (the capital). There had been riots in Tallinn for several days prior to this demonstration.

Here are some pics from the demonstration:




All of this anti-west/American energy....marching right past the......

hmmmm...ironic or proving a point.....

After the demonstration, I had a quick walk around St.Petersburg. I didn't have much time to go into see things, but I was able to enjoy the city more with better weather.

remember this?

modeled after St.Basil's in Moscow

the eternal flame

great day for an impromptu concert

(and great FUN!)

After my power walk around the city, I headed to the bus station to head to Estonia. (Tartu, not Tallinn...thank goodness). This is the castle/fortress on the Russian border with Estonia.

I got out with no problems. The customs guy was actually really very nice. On the bus, I sat with an Estonian and Brazilian (dating...interesting combination) and we had a great ride to Tartu.

Thus ends my Asian and trans-Siberian journey and begins my European one. But, more on that later.

St.Petersburg in the Snow

Again it has been a while...sorry! :)

After Moscow, I took a night train to St.Petersburg. I was met at 5:00am by a beautiful dusting of snow (almost May!) The dark city was beautiful covered in a thin layer of white.


However, after catching a couple more hours of sleep, I was ready to set out exploring St.Petersburg....at this point I quickly learned that snow is not always such a nice pretty experience. Now, I had been told this by people who live in areas where it snows regularly, but I had never really believed them.

Ok, I am now a believer.

It was cold and wet and slapped me in the face all day long. However, I had only 1.5 days in St.Petersburg, so I had to make the best of it. I pushed my way through the freezing, damp wind and tried to enjoy the city as much as possible. Unfortunately, it was also Monday, so all the museums were also closed. This was a bummer not only because I wanted to see the museums, but also because I couldn't get inside and out of the cold. None the less, I persevered and appreciated what I could through the chill. Here are some pictures of the day:

cute Russian ticket taker on the bus

some snow flakes on my Mongolian Camel hair gloves

the (wintry) winter palace

one tough bird

approaching the Peter and Paul fortress

the Peter and Paul Fortress

(the oldest building in the city)

inside the cathedral

(and it was warm...ahhhh)

ice cold coke, anyone?

along a canal

love those golden onion domes

a cold fountain in the snowy park

a park worker

It's a cold day for a stroll