Some days you can try to close your eyes and ears to the world and the war and just focus on your immediate family and your life.
But in order to do that you can’t listen to the radio in the morning where they interview the families of hostages. Or the families of soldiers who have been killed. Or the families who have been displaced from northern Israel because of continued bombings from Hezbollah in Lebanon.
And then that turns to the daily fear that the bombing up north from Hezbollah will turn into a massive war that will affect the entire country in a massive way. As if there isn’t anything else going on to be worried about.
And there are still terrorist attacks.
And life problems. They interview people who have lost their businesses and their livelihoods because of the war.
And the people around us who have family members fighting. And the endless destruction all around. Displaced people, hungry people, sad, scared, and angry people.
And the hostages. The fact that it’s been 143 days and there are still more than 100 hostages is impossibly hard to understand.
Are the politicians doing everything they can? Is this all a game to them? A way to stay in power and seem powerful?
And all this national stress and worry and fear doesn’t take away our own personal stresses and worries. To me, the general stress and worry weighs down the personal stresses to make them feel even heavier. I am privileged to be able to even consider ignoring the world around us.
And people continue to die. On both “sides”. And we all collectively continue to wait for politicians to make peace. While the world screams and yells and tells all of us what to do from thousands of miles away.
It’s Tuesday, but it’s a vacation day because of municipal elections, and it feels like an American Sunday.
American Sunday is a day off, but it’s often overshadowed by the stresses of the upcoming work week – and this Tuesday/Sunday feels the same. Hordes of people in the parks to enjoy a rare day off. But it’s all overshadowed by the gloom of continued war and uncertainty.
Here’s to hoping the relief of Friday comes to all of us soon. In the form of a real and sustainable peace for everyone. And the return of all the hostages.
