“I was standing here in 1990 in disbelief,” said the woman. “I never thought I’d live to see the day we were free.”
An attractive tour guide’s heartfelt words warmed my marrow on a brisk, wind-swept morning as we stood outside the Presidential Palace in Prague, Czech Republic. Along with darling wife and good friends Kim and Jim Gottschalk, we were wrapping up a tour of the beautiful European capitol city in a country that knows a thing or two about adversity.
“The 20th century was not the best for us,” laughed Mahula, our guide and native Prague daughter. “World War II bombed much of the city and then the Communists took control. It was a bad 50 years.”
As we stood in a grand plaza separating Czech government buildings from Saint Vitus Cathedral, a marvelous and grand structure almost 1,000 years old, I tried to imagine the moment. It was 1990, communism had failed and the Czech Republic’s first post-revolutionary president, Vaclav Havel, stood on a second-floor balcony and addressed hundreds of thousands of liberated souls. Our excellent tour guide was one of them.
We stood in silence, gusty winds chilling our bodies, but no match for the warmth felt for a woman and nation that had persevered. For whatever reason, that brief moment in time, with no words said, sent a powerful reminder to the feeble brain of your knucklehead scribe: Don’t ever give up on our future.
Throughout the three-hour tour of Prague the mother of three and I had talked about life under the close eye and restrictive hand of Soviet Union politics. “My family lost everything when the Communists took over after the war.” Everything became property of the state, including businesses, schools, churches and Mahula’s family grocery store. “My grandfather was given a salary to run the store but lost title to the property.”
Prague now bustles with tourists. It wasn’t that way before the 1989 revolt. I highly recommend a visit. The city and country’s history and the Baroque, Gothic and Classical architecture is amazing. The Vitava River runs through the middle of a city of about a million folks. The nighttime lighting is spectacular, especially the illuminated Prague Castle. Construction started in the 9th century. It sits high on the same hill where we were standing while reflecting upon that historical moment in Czech and world history.
Life not going exactly as planned right now? Does it feel as if someone else is dictating matters? That you’ve lost the ability to control your destiny? Unfortunately, it happens too often, right? Relationships crumble, loved ones perish, jobs are lost or a plethora of other calamities crash into our comfortable world and disrupt order.
A simple but truthful phrase comes to mind: “This too shall pass.”
If the going gets tough this week and it seems like someone or something is threatening your future and your vision of a better tomorrow, remember the Czech people. Communism controlled their lives for almost half a century but nothing could quench their spirit.
We would be wise to emulate them. Never surrender dreams. Mahula, thanks for the wonderful reminder.
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