Decorating for Peace in a War Torn World

 

War sucks. 

There is just no other way to say it.  

In college, my outstanding World History professor (whose name I just can't remember 25 years later) said that war was all about the plough.  Not the actual plough, I don't think, but the conquest of land.  This group of people wants land that the other group of people hold.  Proving to us from the start of recorded wars, but surmising that the first humans fought over territory as well, he was pretty much spot on,  War sucks because humans throughout history (sorry, not to be genderist, but mostly dudes) want more land.

This is what is happening to the Ukraine.  Putin wants their land so they can't make decisions that might impact his land.  So instead of sitting down over a cup of tea and chatting about it, he decided to take the land instead.  He sold his people on propaganda, and many just aren't buying it.  But, this isn't the United States where one can March on Washington...in Russia, if you publicly disagree, bad things will truly happen.

As a mother, my heart bleeds for all the mothers of every Ukrainian impacted but it also bleeds for the mothers of those Russian soldiers sent to do the bidding of a tyrant.  It reminds me of a tune that tears my heart apart as a wife of a combat soldier who stood in hot sand in all those senseless Gulf Wars.

This song, The Green Fields of France, performed by the High Kings, reminds me that this war, like all previous and future wars, will suck and young men and women will die in the crosshairs of greedy land grabbers.  I listened to this over and over as I decorated a space in my Linden Home of Second Life. 

These lines strike the most (Source):

and I can't help but wonder oh Willy McBride
do all those who lie here know why did they died
did you really believe them when they told you the cause
did you really believe that this war would end wars
well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame
the killing and dying it was all done in vain
For young Willy McBride it all happened again
and again, and again, and again, and again
did they beat the drums slowly
did the play the fife lowly
did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
did the band play the last post and chorus
did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest

Decorating in Second Life is a form of therapy not unlike coloring or knitting.  I am not good at either of those things IRL, but in Second Life, I can create pretty spaces while listening to music, and I almost always feels better.

Thankfully, The Reckless Angel recently released some sweet and charming decorative frames and a beautiful side table that instantly brought me a sense of peace. As I was arranging the pictures and adding in elements to make the space complete, I felt the beauty filling my heart where sadness was sitting.  I can't do anything in RL about the Ukraine but pray for peace and donate to organizations like the International Red Cross, but in Second Life, I can create a space of beauty, add a cup of tea in hopes that a tyrant will sit down at the table of peace, and pray that this war will be the ends of all war.

THE SETTING

The Sweet Sentimental Frames are so incredibly pretty and can be arranged in any order.  You can buy each one individually or buy the fatpack pictured here.  I love that you can pick and choose which ones you love.  it's always frustrating to buy a connected set with a picture of two you wouldn't hang if you could choose, but, fortunately, I loved all of these prints.  

The Love is Everything Table comes with the Roses, the Eifel Tower and postcard.  It has a nice space for you. to add something else - flowers, a picture of you and your honey, or, in this case a cup of tea in a teacup made to support our Ukranian friends.  

I pulled together some other elements to add depth to the setting, and one of my favorite designers, Kean Kelley, the creator of Keke, is no longer in SL.  The rug is the newest release of Apple Fall , one of my favorite designers along with The Reckless Angel.  Their pieces go nicely together.

PHOTO CREDITS

The Reckless Angel's Sweet Sentimental Frames (from Top to Bottom)

• Frames 6 & 7
• Frames 5, 2, & 4
• Frames 1 & 2

The Reckless Angel's Love is Everything Table (with Roses, Eifel Tower and card); added Trizzles "I Stand with Ukraine" Mug (OL on Marketplace)

Keke's Gustavian chair - blush with Velvet Whip's Chronicler Journal 

Keke's Glass Vase with Magnolias

***NOTE:  Keke was one of the first SL designers of top quality mesh furnishings.  Sadly, he is no longer on the grid, so these items are no longer available inworld or on Marketplace.

Apple Fall Sheridan Knotted Rug - Pale Blue

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