Yesterday I watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing.

It was magnificent. I was awed. Seeing the whole act in this amazing ceremony. And seeing the completed “Bird’s Nest” Stadium in Beijing, after seeing some of the preparations to the Olympics in Beijing last year, made it even more special for me. Seeing all the different countries’ athletic teams all in one event.

This ceremony really made me feel like we are so close to world peace. It felt so ideal. Of course I was aware of all the controversy regarding the Chinese government, but still, watching it really did feel that we have reached, or have gone very close to reaching, some sort of utopia.

And then I woke up this morning. Battles in Georgia. An American tourist killed in Beijing. Iran nuke sanctions revisited. Car bomb in Iraq killing 18. Syria prevents UN observers to inspect nuke activity. And the political and security situation in Israel hasn’t changed either.

We are definitely not there yet.

Today I faced one of my biggest fears.

I’m a certified diver. But this is relatively new for me. Until recently, other than not being on my “to do” list, diving was actually one of my biggest fears. I have seen a documentary in my childhood about diving, where the sport was lethal to some of the main characters. Needless to say, I was devastated. Other things associated with diving make me uneasy as well, but mentioning them won’t help all you potential divers (I highly recommend diving btw – it is amazing). Well, I used to think – why would anyone do that? But two years ago I’ve decided to go for it, despite everything.

There is specifically one part in diving which makes me feel uneasy and makes me want to reach the surface. This is part of the “exercises” you have to undergo if you didn’t dive for several months. Until today I always had to stop the dive in this point, and continue it after reaching the surface.

When we reached this point in the dive today, I thought I won’t be able to handle it. I signaled to the guide that I wanted to go up. I thought “what was I thinking?” “why am I doing this to myself?” “You should go up and out of the water, skip this dive, and quit diving altogether. You’ve always feared it, and there is nothing you really gain out of this experience.”

It was scary because at that second I actually gave up. But then I decided to go for it. I stayed underwater, completed the exercises and the dive (including an injury by a sea urchin, which was actually somewhat amusing, even if painful).

For years now I’ve had a dream. To just get in the car and drive. To Europe. From my home in Israel. I love driving. I love traveling. They could be great together.

Someone told me I can call it a dream for “world peace” or “hummus in Damascus”. But the truth is, that’s not where I’m coming from. I just want to get in the car and drive to Europe. That’s all. Not that all the rest of the peace utopia wouldn’t be awesome as well; that’s a dream I certainly share with the rest of the world. But this driving to Europe thing is my own personal dream.

I got so excited recently when I’ve heard the news re negotiations with Syria. Not sure I’m happy with their context or consequences, but hey, they still got my hopes up. Syria is the main obstacle now on my way to Europe. I can drive through Jordan, Turkey, etc. Even through Iraq (I’m a US citizen). But not Syria.