  A good friend of mine who for years has been a proud atheist, has recently decided to become a Buddhist. I was somewhat surprised because this person is the most stubborn person I know (apart from yours truly perhaps) and therefore this change was rather unexpected. But then again, it's my theory that everyone needs something to have faith in.&nbsp;However while the sudden leap of faith was somewhat surprising to me, the religion of choice was not. It seems to me that a lot of people who have rejected the more...Conventional religions, typically end up as Buddhists. Now I don't mean that Buddhism is unconventional...Come on, half of my extended family are Buddhists. But the thing is, for some reason, people always view Buddhism as the more mystical religion. &nbsp; Why is that? &nbsp; Christianity and&nbsp;Catholicism are religions cultured in the Western World, in large, impressive churches. Islam was born in a dry and sandy country.&nbsp;But Buddhism comes from a far away land that was (and still is) steeped in spiritual and supernatural folklore...Does that perhaps play a large role in society's viewpoint? &nbsp; Or maybe it's because Buddhism is all about the path of enlightenment. In other religions, the main goal is to live a good, clean life,&nbsp; preferably by following the established dogmas, and then...Get to heaven.
But Buddhists strive to find inner perfection. It seems to be more about the journey than the destination. It's not about pleasing God, but (in a way) pleasing yourself. Perhaps that is the main reason why Buddhism is so popular for those who disagree with the other religions. &nbsp; I just want to say that none of what I said is meant to be offensive or favoring towards one religion&nbsp;as opposed to another.
&nbsp;This is just some things that I was thinking about last night. I don't really know what I'm talking about. Trust me. &nbsp; Anyways, on a lighter note...I was recently in Australia right where , they are so environmentally conscious that everywhere you go, &nbsp;they have special toilets that have two flush buttons...One is a half flush (for pee) and the other is a full flush (for when you take a dump).
I guess that way, water is not wasted. But the thing is, now that I'm back in Jakarta, where there's only one way, every time I use the toilet and flush, the flush seems to go on for so long and I always worry that the toilet is broken or stuck or something. Plus, now I feel guilty about using so much water when I pee. Welcome to my complicated life. 
