In the Name of Life, Love and Peace
Dear Mr. Putin,
We are two artists.
Our names are Alan Crist and Natalie Angel.
We come to you neither as politicians nor as representatives of a government, an institution, or a nation.
We come simply as two human beings.
And we do not write to condemn you.
We do not write to teach you.
We do not write with anger.
We write with love.
We have spent our lives creating art because we believe that beauty has a language of its own — a language that can cross borders, cultures and differences between human beings.
Today, we would like to speak to you in that language.
Before the speeches of governments, before the maps of nations, before the names of borders, there is something much older and much more precious:
life.
Perhaps, for a moment, we can simply look at it together.
Listen to the song of a bird in the morning.
It asks no nation to belong to.
It carries no weapon.
It knows no political border.
It simply sings because it is alive.
Look at the blue sky above us.
Look at the golden radiance of the sun falling upon the Earth.
Look at the first light of morning touching the leaves of a tree.
Look at a flower.
And notice the tiny drop of dew resting upon its petals.
It is so small that the world could easily overlook it.
Yet within that little drop, the light of the entire sky can be reflected.
And then look at a human tear.
How small is a tear.
And yet how much sorrow, love, memory and longing a single tear can carry.
Perhaps this is one of the mysteries of creation:
what is small can contain something immeasurably great.
We live upon a small and beautiful planet, travelling through the vastness of space.
Beyond our Earth is our solar system.
Beyond our solar system is our galaxy.
And beyond what our eyes can see lies a universe so immense that the human mind can hardly comprehend it.
And still, here we are.
Human beings.
Breathing.
Loving.
Hoping.
Dreaming.
Looking into the same sky.
Receiving the same sunlight.
Walking upon the same Earth.
We believe that this magnificent creation does not belong to us to destroy.
It has been entrusted to us.
And behind this extraordinary mystery, we believe, stands the Lord of the universe — the Creator of life, beauty and all that exists.
Perhaps He asks of us not how much power we can possess, but what we choose to do with the power that has been placed in our hands.
Perhaps He asks us to protect what is fragile.
To respect His creatures.
To have compassion for those who suffer.
To keep purity within our hearts.
To forgive.
To love.
And above all, to choose peace when peace is still possible.
Christ gave the world a difficult and beautiful message:
to love,
to forgive,
to show mercy,
and to seek peace.
These are not weak things.
There is great strength in forgiveness.
There is great courage in mercy.
And there is a special kind of courage in choosing peace when the world expects us to continue fighting.
Mr. Putin,
we do not know what is inside your heart.
Only God knows the deepest place within a human soul.
But perhaps every human heart has a quiet place where the noise of the world cannot reach.
A place where there are no armies.
No weapons.
No borders.
No shouting.
Only silence.
And perhaps, within that silence, God can still whisper.
Perhaps His voice does not speak through anger.
Perhaps it speaks through compassion.
Perhaps it speaks through the cry of a child.
Through the tears of a mother.
Through the life of a young person who still has dreams for tomorrow.
Through the song of a bird.
Through the dew upon a flower.
Through the warmth of the sun.
Through the quiet beauty of the Earth.
And perhaps, if we become still enough to hear it, that voice says only:
Peace.
We are not asking you to listen to us.
We are asking you to listen to that quiet voice within your own soul.
If you open your heart before God and surrender your will to what is good, perhaps you will hear something that the noise of the world has made difficult to hear.
Perhaps you will hear the voice of peace.
The voice of forgiveness.
The voice of life.
And perhaps, one day, the guns will become silent.
Perhaps people will once again walk through their cities without fear.
Perhaps families will sit together at their tables.
Perhaps children will look toward the sky without knowing the sound of war.
Perhaps the fields will once again belong to flowers instead of destruction.
And perhaps the Earth itself will seem to breathe more peacefully.
We are artists.
We have no armies.
We have no weapons.
We have only our hands, our colours, our words, and the faith that beauty can still reach a human heart.
So we offer you these words.
Not as an accusation.
Not as a demand.
But as a small light.
Please allow that light to enter your heart.
And if, in the quiet of your soul, you hear the voice of God calling you toward peace, may you have the courage to follow it.
Because every moment of peace can save a life.
Every act of mercy can heal a wound.
And every human life that is spared is a world that continues to exist.
Life is beautiful.
The Earth is beautiful.
Creation is beautiful.
And peace is more beautiful than war.
May God protect every innocent life.
May He bring comfort to every grieving heart.
May He soften every heart hardened by hatred.
May He guide those who hold great power toward wisdom, mercy and peace.
And may the day come when the sound that rises above our beautiful Earth is no longer the sound of war,
but the sound of birds,
the laughter of children,
the quiet breathing of peaceful families,
and the gentle voice of humanity remembering how to love.
With respect, with hope, and with love,
Alan Crist
Designer & Visual Abstract Artist
Natalie Angel
Artist