Tell Me Anyone Cares ...

In any other place in the world, when your house is on fire there is a certain code of behavior. Neighbors come out to check on each other, and provide food, clothing and blankets. Any help or kindness that's not too great an effort is easily offered in that kind of situation.

Everything that's happening in the world at the moment is for us to go through this transformation from imagining we're doing good, to actually impacting the world in a positive manner.

But here in Israel, while our "home" is on fire, everyone is just getting as far away as they can. There is always a huge exodus from here during the week of Passover. But this year, even though our country is going through one of the most uncertain times since I moved here from Canada in 1978 - about a quarter of the country are abroad. Many of them make their way down to Sinai , which has always been a popular escape route for the average Israeli. You don't have to be rich to go down there. You just need to have your passport in order.

Israelis traveling to Sinai in ‘unprecedented numbers’ for Passover The Times of Israel

It's actually amazing for the rest of us who are not searching for anything abroad, because we have everything we need right here. You have to be Israeli to appreciate driving out your neighborhood at 9am on a Sunday (usually a work day here), and getting to the beach in ten minutes. The streets were empty and so was the beach, which is usually packed on days off. Everyone looked less stressed than we normally do - yes it's even stressful being on the beach together when everyone is there at the same time. Someone even offered me his parking space. It's much easier to be kind and polite when we're not all squished together.

Why am I telling you all this? I want you to have the full picture of the real (fake) situation we have here. So many people screaming for justice and democracy - it's all actually meaningless, because in reality - no one really cares what happens to our country. If they did care, they would be interested in actually staying put and investing their energy in bridging these big gaps between us.

The irony here is that since Israelis always buy the same travel deals, wherever they go in the world, they usually find themselves surrounded by plenty of other Israelis. I've heard that lately from a bunch of people. How it was so great to get away from it all, but they were actually with other Israelis more than they are here at home. It turns out that no matter where Israelis go, they can't escape Pharaoh. He's not going to make it that easy for them.

If we want to develop in a healthy and fulfilling way, with far less stress and mental health issues, far less wars and clashes, and actually heal the planet, we're going to need to learn how to create altruistic connection.

So these types of connection that are not built on genuine and positive intentions, are actually a negative type of connection. That's why I'm always talking about egoistic connection, which won't get us anywhere.

If we want to develop in a healthy and fulfilling way, with far less stress and mental health issues, far less wars and clashes, and actually heal the planet, we're going to need to learn how to create altruistic connection.

Everything that's happening in the world at the moment is for us to go through this transformation from imagining we're doing good, to actually impacting the world in a positive manner. It's really night and day. Like being outside of Israel, and being inside of Israel. Two completely different states.