My heart goes out to Ukraine. The news all day long is so devastating. So insane.

The national flower of Ukraine is the Sunflower. A flower that symbolizes happiness, optimism, honesty, longevity, peace, admiration, and devotion.

It’s believed that Sunflowers were planted and grown as a crop by American Indians in what is now New Mexico and Arizona around 5000 BCE.

Back in 1996, Ukraine, which had the third largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, committed to total nuclear disarmament. In a ceremony to honor the occasion representatives from the US, Ukraine and Russia planted Sunflowers in locations where missile silos had been. Sunflowers were chosen because they absorb radioactive isotopes from the environment. These special flowers have also been planted at Chernobyl and Fukushima in order to help remove radioactive toxins.

My heart goes out to Ukraine, its land, its towns and cities, its ancient castles, its parks, its natural world and most of all its people.