When you grow up somewhere in the world other than America, you hear many stories about how great America is. When I was a little girl, I heard that America was a country where all dreams come true and I imagined that everything was perfect in America – people looked like movie stars, they were beautifully dressed, they were friendly, rich and happy.
Moscow, Russia, December 1992. There was a diplomatic reception held at the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. It was a major diplomatic event of the year, and all the foreign ambassadors and consuls were present. Despite the economic hardships and the collapse of the Soviet Union just over a year before, the reception was grand. Appearances meant everything to the Russians, and no expense was spared for the occasion – beautifully decorated tables were filled with the Russian delicatessens and waiters walked around with trays offering the best champagne and caviar.
In the previous stories, I told you about how my native country Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union, how we celebrated our freedom on the streets of Vilnius, my hometown, and how I got my first job as a consul in the Lithuanian Embassy in Moscow in those historic times.
A self-diagnosed Anglophile, my whole life, I could not have been more excited when on a beautiful, crisp, cool day in January 1993 I was on a plane landing at Heathrow International Airport. I had never been there before, but for some reason, I loved England all my life – for me, it was a country of great culture and sophistication, the country of Shakespeare and Benjamin Disraeli, the country where I could wear a hat and nobody would stare at me!
I was 10 years old and sitting on the bench in summer camp, with my things packed, bug bitten and sunburnt, waiting for my parents to pick me up and take me home after a month of fun. I saw my mother approaching… She came alone. She sat down next to me and announced the news: “ I have something to tell you”, she said,“ I divorced your father”
On November 14, 1992, Annette Herfkens and her fiance Willem van der Pas (Pasje) boarded Vietnam Airlines flight 474 in Ho Chi Minh City. They were just two young people in love that planned a romantic getaway to the coastal resort of Nha Trang.
It was a time in England when there was a recession. I’d gotten into debt and wasn’t earning enough – the situation spiraled into bankruptcy. I lost my home and business and because of that my relationship collapsed too. I was left with nothing and after having fought this for so long, I felt in despair.
On August 23rd, 1989 approximately two million people joined hands forming a human chain spanning over 600 kilometers from the Gediminas Tower in Vilnius to the foot of Toompea in Tallinn, crossing Riga and the River Daugava.
Countess Emilia Plater (German-Switz: Broel Plater, Lithuanian: Emilija Pliaterytė); (11/13/1806 – 12/23/1831) was a noblewoman and revolutionary from the lands of the partitioned Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She became a symbol of women fighting for the national cause. She is often nicknamed a Lithuanian Joan of Arc (and Polish Joan of Arc).
I was at work one morning back in February 2007 and the owner of our company stuck his head into my office to tell me he had hired a new messenger. I felt there was something strange as he tried to act like he was in a hurry. “His name is Eric. And, oh yeah, he used to be a gang leader and spent 24 years in prison…
“Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.” –Benjamin Franklin. I found that quote on Brainy quotes. In fact, they had 28 pages of quotations on the subject of anger, and although I didn’t read them all, I did read several dozen, and they all reflected a similar philosophy – that anger is a negative passion.
(From Marilyn’s online memoir, Feel Free to Prosper: An Entrepreneurial Memoir of Synchronicity and Guidance… ) Taking Care of Business. My prosperity teachings and spiritual philosophy champion the use of positive words and ideas only. However, in an apparently negative situation usually lies the seed of a valuable lesson and I decided to share this story with you, hoping that you, also, will appreciate the lesson.
