Light bulb!

What great insight. Had to share:

'In Latin America there were so many things that were out of your control. The check you were expecting might arrive or the bank could go bankrupt, wiping out your life savings in an hour. The bus you were expecting might come in an hour, or it might not come at all -- which means that you could stand in line freaking out, checking your watch, and asking everyone where the bust was, or you could set your bags down and start up an impromptu party with the people around you. Either way, the bus was either going to come or it wouldn't. There was nothing worrying would do to make it come any faster.

This attitude was the only way to survive in Latin America and it had taken a lot of time to make it finally sink in. After all, I had been trained from birth that everything was within my control. I had to be accountable, be responsible, make things happen. But now I understand that responsibility was only part of the equation -- life was the process of finding the delicate balance between responsibility and spontaniety, adulthood and innocence, duty and joy.

In the United States, we placed so much stock in responsibility, because we held on to an illusory notion that we were completely in control of our lives. Any bad event was an aberration, an act that needed to be remedied. We believed in order: The movie was supposed to start on time, the ATM machine was expected to work, the mechanic would never be out to lunch when we needed repair. Bad things weren't supposed to happen, but when they did, someone had to be punished. If I slipped in a restaurant, it was the owner's fault. If I got in a car accident, someone was always to blame. In the United States, there was an incessant need to control a world it was often impossible to control. Because the truth was, sometimes the plate simply slipped out of your hands.'

- From Avoiding Prison + Other Noble Vacation Goals, by Wendy Dale

Makes total sense doesn't it?