Terrorist attacks

So.
There was an attack yesterday.


All I can think about is how different the people here, in Israel, reactions to attacks are compared to those of the Americans.


An hour after a bus was shot out, just a regular bus with citizens on it, it was completely normal for my friend and I to hop onto a bus to go down to the beach and mall.  There was a huge beer festival on the beach that people from all over Israel attend last night, thousands of people, the day of one of the largest terrorist attacks in years, and they didn't even blink.


No cancellations, no paranoia, it's just life here.


Even went out clubbing last night.


No one was paranoid, no one shut down their life.


I guess that's just because the possibility of attack, or of attack itself, is such a reality here that if they were to have the same reactions to such things as America that their society could simply not function.


I mean, buses are the major source of transportation here- if people were to allow themselves to be scared away from using them, could the country function?  Could people still live their lives and get to work and take care of their families and continue to function as citizens?


No.  They couldn't.


Just been thinking- ever since I got here, I've been working and progressing towards what I consider "enlightenment" in my own life.  What I mean is simply never taking myself, or those around me, too seriously.  It's finally a relief to not have the "self hatred" and consciousness of every small movement and thought I did or possessed, terrified that I'll do or say or think the wrong thing.  And the thing is, life hasn't changed for the worse for me at all after simply learning not to care about an extra 5-10 pounds or maybe just having one too many drinks when out with friends- I can just shrug my shoulders, laugh it off, and not make the same mistake next time.  And after seeing these peoples reactions to what happened yesterday, comparing it to America, where we just all seem to freeze and play dead the moment we are threatened, I understood how important this lesson is.


Life is too short, and at times too difficult, to put so much stock in the things that just simply don't matter.


To lighten the mood, here are a few photos from being out at Loft last night.


Enjoy, and love life.


Peace.


-Em

Me and Giulia, my new friend from Italy! (this photo REFUSED to upload correctly...)