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Small Answer to Big Question

Not happy data. According one sociological research 55% of young Ukrainians aged 18 to 29 wish to live abroad, 44% of Ukrainians aged 30 to 39 wish the same, 33% of Ukrainians after forty and fifty ears old intend to do the same.

The reasons for such choice are understandable: better education abroad, better chance to find job, better long-term perspectives, better political and economic conditions.

And what is interesting. Not only young hotheads are going abroad but even people who are older than me intend to do it. 

I tried this idea on myself: go abroad and live there and work. But I understand that my legal profession is a very, very local profession. If I only could find a happy place in another country. However it is never too late to quite legal practice in Ukraine and go abroad, and start new life, and sweep the streets, or carry the bricks, or work at the farm, or drive big garbage truck.

I just want to see what romanticism looks like.

But seriously, who are responsible for this idiocy with Ukrainian politicians, burocracy, corruption, sky high utility bills and so on? It seems sometimes that life in Ukraine goes like one crisis after another crisis after another, while the time just passes by. One problem goes after another problem. How to deal with it? I am sure that people who were interviewees in the mentioned research put these questions themselves.

I think that I found the answer how to live with constant problems in the novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway. I'll recall you the subject.

The main character Robert Jordan is American. As a volunteer he came to Spain during civil war in 1937. He fights on the side of one party. Robert is an expert-exploder. He got the task to explode the bridge to prevent the enemy attack. For that goal he cooperates with the local partisans. Everything goes bad. One partisan betrays, the others are stupid uneducated peasants, the bridge is guarded by the many enemies. Jordan doubts. He is disappointed. He understands that performing this task is combined with possible death of partisans. All his days are filled with troubles, difficulties and problems.

However Jordan and his team  completed the mission. They should escape riding horses. Jordan's horse was injured by the enemy and fell down. Jordan's leg was broken. He could not go so he had no choice. He must stay. Partisans must ride further.

The last pages of this novel are about the state of mind of Jordan. His leg hurts. He can't move. He just crawled to the tree and leaned against it. He had a weapon. He thought to kill himself but decided not to do it because his father committed suicide. The enemies will come soon and kill him.

Here are very important phrases by Hemingway about main character: "He felt empty and drained and exhausted from all of it. Now, finally and at last, there was no problem for him, no longer was there any problem. He was alone with his back against a tree".

This is the key point. There was no problem for Jordan anymore. All problems and troubles were behind him. Was it good? No. Because he lived the last moments of the life.

As for me it doesn't matter where to live and work. Grow where you are planted. The good life is wherever we happen not to be. The problems, troubles, difficulties, deadlines and pressure will be always and everywhere. This is the part of human life. The uncomfortable things can define or not to define the awareness of present moment and happiness of life. It's up to us. There is always something to do, to say, to think, to be thankful for.  It's well said by Rudyard Kipling in his poem "IF":

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And-which is more-you'll be a Man, my son!

This is my small answer to big question how to live with constant problems. Let's live life to the fullest with all our ups and downs. What doesn't kill us... You know what.