REMEMBER

«If the crisis or war comes» is the title of the yellow booklet from the Swedish government that was delivered to our and all the other mailboxes in the country. It was delivered a few days ago, but I am still trying to shake off the feeling of «Not again!!!»
I was 15 years old when the war broke out in my country. Months before it started, it sneaked into everyone’s conversations. There was no other news but the nationalist reasons for the war to take place. And once the space between Us and Them got filled with a layer of hate, ignorance, and prejudice so thick that no other reason could ever get to the other side, there was nothing else to do but wait for it to come.
There were no yellow booklets, but we all knew it was coming. It didn’t come as a surprise. Without even knowing it, we all stepped into the darkness.

Soon, I had no country anymore.

Four years after that, I was a refugee in another country when a new war broke out. Once again, there were no other conversations but war. For months before it broke out, there was no other news.

There were no yellow booklets, but we all knew it was coming.

This time, it didn’t last for four years. But even though the war ended, peace was not coming. That’s when I realized I suffer from a «serious condition»:
I am allergic to war and addicted to peace.

After that, I lived in several countries, and when I finally landed in one with a history of nearly two centuries without war, I felt this might be it—this might be the place.
And then, some days ago, I picked up the mail and the yellow booklet.
War. Once everyone starts talking about it, it is difficult to avoid it.

But difficult is not impossible.
What makes it possible is the certainty of assured mutual self-destruction that hangs behind the red button.
And the only way to avoid it is to fill our conversations with peace.
If all we hear and talk about is war, it will come. It is like a black hole that absorbs everything around it. Once it gets too big, it is too late.
So, the only way to avoid it is not to feed it. Not letting it grow bigger.

We live in dangerous times under some very dark clouds. The only way to deal with it is through conversations. So;

Let’s talk about peace. Let’s fill the space between us with light, prosperity, and hope.
Let’s REMEMBER
Even beyond the darkest clouds, the skies are blue.