It is not what happens to us that shapes us, but how we deal with the aftermath.

It amazes me how people in a country with such violence and war in its recent history can place so much value on nightlife. Entertainment and luxury are everywhere. I heard someone say that the most popular sport in this country is "seeing and being seen." Most men and women are on top of the latest fashion trends in this land where plastic surgery is practically routine. Ridiculously large German and Brazilian flags hang from balconies and flap in the wind behind cars, showing steadfast loyalty to favorite World Cup teams. Thousands of people pack into cafes at the end of a long workday to drink sweet mint lemonade and smoke argheela, showing off their hairstyles and catching up with friends. Every day is lived fully and enjoyed immensely.

There is another side to this love for luxury. The Lebanese are extremely resilient to conflict. One conversation with my boss has impacted me so directly that I have started writing a story about what he told me. During the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, he remembers sitting on a balcony with his young nephew and watching the planes fly over Beirut. They would take turns guessing where the next bomb was going to fall. He says he knew it was terribly wrong because people could have been dying from each explosion, but there was nothing else he could have done. Rather than panic and hide, he just had to wait it out.

In my lifetime, I have never even come close to experiencing something of that magnitude. I take my personal safety and the safety of my friends and family for granted every single day. If I don't feel like doing one thing, I put it off until tomorrow. Most people here know that tomorrow may not come. Meeting friends for coffee after work suddenly seems much more important than putting in an extra hour or two at the office when everyone else has gone home. Wearing your brand new dress on a ten minute trip to the supermarket, with your hair and makeup perfectly done, may sound pointless until you realize another occasion may not come around.

Though these thoughts may not explicitly rest in the minds of these people, I have found that they are much more prone to live for today instead of for the indefinite future. It is important to understand the consequences of our actions, so I'm not suggesting we eat an entire chocolate cake today and throw our health out the window because we may not live until tomorrow. I'm only saying that seizing the moment may be more important than accomplishing something that won't matter in the long run.

The man who works at the desk next to mine has just announced that he is taking off tomorrow "to find a wife." If that's not seizing the moment, I'm not sure what is!