Emotion: is it redundant?

If emotion is happiness, pain, sadness, love, hate, jealousy, anger, passion and more - does it really help us, or does it inhibits us and brings us only sorrow and pain?

I know, it depends on where we're at. If we're happy or sad right now - the feeling gets artificially amplified by the lense of current feeling and we think accordingly.

Say, right now I'm bummed out, because I'm thinking sad thoughts. It makes me look at the world through a prism of "Everything's shit, and it's just a matter of time till everyone catches up on it if they haven't already"

But on happier days, I am much more optimistic. And I also noticed that even when I'm depressed, I try to cheer others if I see they're sad. It make me feel a little bit better. For a while anyways.

Yet it doesn't really answers my question. Obviously it's fun feeling good and optimistic, but we're living in an ocean of emotions, and the nature of waves is to rise as well as fall. Isn't it better to leave on flat ground?

I know it's more boring on flat ground. No upheavals, no excitement (no emotions), and living in a certain detachment from everything around you can introduce some sadness if you manage an objective outlook even for a little while.

But on the bright side, there's no drama, no sadness, little to no pain. Logic prevails and madness is put aside.

So why do people keep choosing emotion?

Death as a motivator

I read a book recently, that claims that all (or most) of man achievements can be attributed to the fear of death, and the need to leave something behind to be remembered by.

It actually makes a lots of sense. the greatest enemy of man kind is boredom. And that is because boredom leads to depression and grim thoughts.

For myself I notice the same and also in the people around me. When you get bored, you get cranky, unfocused, and on the road to depression.

So, what can we do? think about death?

Well, in a way, yes!

If you lack motivation, think about how much time you have left (approximately) and what you achieved so far. Then, ignore the depression that follow, and put a close-by bulls-eye to look forward to. Learn something new, create something, visit a place you've never been to, and do it soon. If possible, now, or at least today. I know, I'm one of the worst procrastinators in the world. Even short texts don't catch my attention long enough to finish reading them.

Yes, I can attribute it all to my ADD but that would be the easy way out. I love the easy way out, but it doesn't solve anything. It just lets you push the blame towards something other than your own character. People do this all the time. We rather not take responsibility for our faults, or for our actions.

I make this promise to myself, to set small goals and follow them, rather then big goals that I never reach.

Back to Istanbul - on a different note

After being on vacation at Istanbul, I woke up today to read that a double bombing took place in the city, taking 16 lives, and injuring more than a 100.
I feel both relieved that we were spared the mayhem, and at a loss for the citizens of this noisy, busy, lively city.
My country has its share of death and mayhem, but even though you become somewhat toughskinned, it's the places you go to vacation at that you really do not want nor expect to be in danger.
I wish to send some comforting words to the families of the deceased and wishes of fast recovery to the families of the injured.

Death in a Dream

(This photo is for visualization purposes only)

I had a dream last night, and in my dream I saw a homeless guy.

He was a black guy with lots of hair on his head, with a wisp a moustache and a shadow of a beard.

I saw him twice in the dream. I think the first time he was outside or around my apartment building. The second time, he was trying to break into my apartment from the one next door.

He climbed on the edge of the wall from the adjacent apartment, and came into my veranda which made a racket that got my and my girlfriend attention. So I went to investigate, and there he was. For some reason he was smiling.. maybe to look less of a threat, I don't know.

Then I shouted at him. and he tried going back the way he came. He fell from the ledge to the ground - two stories below. I heard the thud. I didn't see anything, as the dream ended at that point.

It's a disturbing dream. I even remember seeing the same guy previously. Whether it was in another dream, the street, on the television or at the cinema, I don't remember.

Nightmares suck. I say that even though I heard that dreaming about death means good things in real life.

Hope you all have good dreams!

Ceremonies of Death & Life

Here in Israel, Mourning death and Rejoicing in Life are closer subjects to each other than in any other place I've been.

The most visible evidence to this is seen in the fact that our day of independence follows at the heels of our day of memorial for fallen soldiers.

Thus, in a matter of hours the country must switch from sad and mournfull demeanor to that of happyness and joy at the birthday of Israel.

This dichotomy is difficult enough to grasp for any outsider, but even for us who lives it, it's not simple to make the switch from sorrow to joy.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Israel as a free country. In 60 Years Israel seen its share of wars, trouble, peace (to a small degree), technological advancement, rise in population, many different leaders, and many different decisions.

Hope is what drives Israel forward all the time, and it is also the name and theme of our national anthem. Hope for something better, hope for peace, hope for something more.

And in unrelated news: We got the bed! and it's comfortable and good for the back too :)

Have a great Day of independence!