The difference

Berlin is a beautiful city. Yesterday I walked the streets, met some people, and then had dinner downtown and in the cool of the evening walked through the Brandenburg Gate. The entire time something was nagging inside me. It was that feeling you get when you think you've left something on at home and you won't be back for a couple of days. The feeling you get when somethings lurking in the back of your mind and it's like a ghost - here and then not here.
Then it hit me, not last night, this morning. I was going through my pictures from Belarus - over 700 of them - when I noticed the difference. It was a profound moment for me and I'm sure it will take some time to sort through.
The difference - the faces of the people, just the regular people - in Belarus and then the people of Berlin.
In Belarus the people were talking about opportunities, the future, how much better things were, they had some hope, even their faces told the story.
Last night after I left Katie at the train station I stopped at a little cafe and struck up a conversation with a local. In my short conversation there was little talk about the future, except it's bleakness. No talk about hope, just praying for survival. The difference was profound.
Now I'm no sociologist - I'm not even much of a deep thinker - but I'm wondering about this one thing. Does having more - more stuff, more personal freedom, more of everything - lead us to less - less freedom, less peace, less joy, less life?
I don't have the answer - but I know if we can ask the right questions we can figure some of the stuff of life out.
I will forever be impacted by the vibrancy of the Belarussian people. Even though they had little, they have it all.