After some research and conversations with my local friends, I discovered that this extraordinary calmness in Israeli people come from two sources: One is their deep faith in and longing for Shalom, the true peace that Yahweh is going to bring the victory and the final judgement (or I'd validate that by saying Yeshua won the victory on that weekend two thousand years ago). The other is this high level of prudence and preparedness Israeli people have for any unknown crisis. I think these are the two fundamentals of what it means to have a good life in Israel!
So I decided to follow the local wisdom and do some of my "due diligence" according to the local Israeli standard. This actually excited me, partly because of my professional background of helping and training people about disaster preparedness and contingency planning. I take these stuff seriously!
Here is the list of things I started preparing for myself in a backpack:
1. Store enough food (non-perishable items) in the house.
So I went to a local pharmacy to get some stuff. I was pleasantly surprised by the store I went into, first because of the familiar layout of the store, and then the store brand they carry - it is the same one as I used to go to in my neighbourhood in Vancouver. For my Canadian friends who are missing hockey games this fall, here's my attempt to bring a little bit of entertainment for you!
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| Granola bars from a familiar brand, Life |
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| Super-Pharm, Israeli sister-brand of Shoppers Drug Mart (owned by the same family in Toronto!) |
2. Store enough drinking water in the house.
I bought an Israeli brand water filter and filled a few bottles in the kitchen. Then I realized I'd never really learned how Israel built the water system in this desert land and be able to provide such good water. So I googled and read some stuff on Wikipedia and found out that Israel has some amazing water engineering and supply systems with the water they get from the Sea of Galilee, the rainfall in the winter, and desalinization. As the water (or lack of water) is a rising global issue soon in the next few years (yes, that will be the case, even more so than human trafficking today!), I am again awestruck by the prudence of Israeli people!
3. Get all your important documents, contact information in one place, easy to reach. Make sure to pack your cell phone charger, not just cell phone!
Sorry no pictures for this one!
4. Familiarize yourself with the locations of bomb shelters in your neighbourhood.
One impressive thing I discovered about Haifa is that the municipal government has developed a comprehensive city-wide plan for national emergency and it includes the plan of using the new Mount Carmel Tunnel as the public bomb shelters (click here to read the full article).
This - finding where the bomb shelters are - is something I haven't done yet and I am still very new to Haifa. So I am taking walks and run to places to learn more about my neighbourhood each day. In one of my walks these days I discovered something quite amusing that there are so many safety hazards everywhere and it doesn't take much to die on an accident - here or anywhere!
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| Propane cylinders everywhere in the streets and overhead power lines with the sign |
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| Close-up view of "Danger of Death" sign on the overhead power line |
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| Sign hanging over grocery store (refrigerator): See the distance between the power line and the apartment. |
The simple truth has just dawned on me again: Life on this side of heaven is fragile no matter what.
Life is too short to worry about tomorrow. Be fully alive and fully present today, because tomorrow will worry itself.
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