Today, May 4rth, is the day to remember the suffering of the past in the Netherlands. After last weeks post it may seem a little repetitious, however to me, feeling privileged holding two nationalities, it is important to appreciate the freedom I have enjoyed my entire life.

There will be a minute of silence to connect to the past and remember all the people that lost their lives in WW2, victims as well as freedom fighters.

Tomorrow, on the 5th of May, the freedom regained is celebrated in honoring all those foreign and Dutch soldiers that contributed.

2015 is the 70th anniversary of this event and it is good to see that the gratitude is still alive among the generations that have never been through it, that can only imagine what it was like to live under occupation of a dictatorship compared to what they are experiencing now.

A group of young people, from several countries involved, recently went on a bicycle tour, taking the “Flame of Freedom” to revisit several memorial monuments:

While remembrance is far from a fun thing to do, it is important to remember that we can do the fun things because of the sacrifices made. It is important to have gratitude for what was achieved in order to maintain the liberties and avoid similar mistakes in the future.

Only if things go back to what once was, will they have suffered in vain. We can choose to embrace our differences with compassion and understanding the connection all humans share, that ultimately we all want freedom and happy lives.

Unfortunately it takes those unhappy events to give us the perspective to recognize what happy free lives look like and appreciate what we have. Lets keep the Flame of Freedom alive!

What would we think of the light if there was no darkness?

Top image (Ignition of the Flame of Freedom) courtesy of http://www.susantouwphotography.com/