Thoughts For Today

As we all know by now, Russian troops have been invading Ukraine, leading to innocent people dying. They’re either purposely being targeted or in the wrong place at the wrong time, but lives are being lost all the same.

I’m embarrassed to admit how little I know about the ‘why’ of these actions. And even if I thought I knew, I really wouldn’t know. There’s a lot of history, a lot of baggage, and what seems to be unhinged leadership. But the ‘why’ and excuses don’t matter much. It’s unfathomable why the issues can’t be worked out in another way. Our fellow humans are living in fear, being forced to fight, fleeing to surrounding countries, and giving birth to babies in bomb shelters. Meanwhile the rest of the civilian world watches it all unfold on social media like never before, worrying about World War III.

Current news headlines like; “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: What you need to know” or “Russia pummels Ukraine’s No. 2 city and convoy nears Kyiv” are depicting the seriousness of what’s happening. While others read as if a Kindergarten teacher was telling us about her day; “Moscow resorting to outright lies”, “Putin Stripped of Taekwondo belt over Ukraine Invasion”, and “Ukraine says Russia plans to spread fake news about Ukrainian surrender”.

I thought we’ve evolved. It’s saddening to see what people are going through and I’m in disbelief that it’s happening.

At the company I work for, leaders are trained and provided with tools to help with communication. There’s lessons from books with titles like ‘Leadership and Self-Deception’ and ‘Crucial Conversations’, diversity training, personality assessments, and a focus on emotional intelligence to aide in working with people that think differently or have conflicting views.

I know I’m overgeneralizing for the sake of sharing this thought, but if corporate businesses prioritize communication skills for their leadership, shouldn’t world leaders also possess those skills (and a lot more)? It’s disheartening to think that humanity hasn’t collected enough tools in our arsenal of soft skills that we still need to resort to violence, which leads to ending innocent lives and creating more collateral damage than I can comprehend.

In the meantime, I’ll pray for peace and try my best to comfort those around me.

“War is outdated – non-violence is the only way. We need to develop a sense of the oneness of humanity by considering other human beings as brothers and sisters. This is how we will build a more peaceful world.” The Dalai Lama