Insecurities

'I want to hear you talk, not my insecurities'. That's what I told my muse this morning - because, well, they have been making so much noise... creating interference... and what my muse suggested was: write about them. So here goes... insecurities.

Our psychological need for security manifests in the desire to be romantically loved, but in truth, you can find the deepest insecurity rooted in the quest for that love. And don't forget the fact that we all get kicked out of heaven at the start of our lives, which means that having rejection issues is probably one of the most common diseases among humans being. And then there is that trial-by-opinion we all fear so much, that moment we let the guard slip, when we fully own our words and our dreams and our fears without qualifying them or nullifying them, just in case, we will be help up for ridicule, and ridicule is so frightfully immediate, these days. Okay, here goes, you don't need anyone's permission to feel, to love, or to be human. Opening up can be frightening (to you) but perhaps it becomes reassuring and liberating for the next heavily armoured soul watching silently from the wings.

Your insecurities are there for a reason. Don't NOT listen to your insecurities, but recognize them for what they are. Insecurities. Your insecurities, not someone else's. YOURS!!!!!!! By all means chat to your insecurities, acknowledge their
existence, and set them free.

Amazing Journeys

When I was a child, we has a cat called Passepartout, named after the long-suffering sidekick of Phineas Fogg, the hero of Jules Verne's 'Around the World in 80 Days'.

What I did not know at the time, was that the book was based on the real-life adventures of George Francis Train, railway entrepreneur, author and eccentric, who made his first attempt to travel around the world in 80 days in 1870. The journey included some time spent in a jail in Lyons, but was nevertheless completed within 80 days. The book by Jules Verne, published in 1873, in turn inspired a reporter from the 'New York World', Nelly Bly, to travel around the world. She had at that time already achieved some fame for a well-documented ten day stay in Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum, in order to expose the harshly inhuman treatment that was common at the time in such institutions.

She began her round trip in New York on the 14th of November 1889, arriving back home 72 days, six hours, eleven minutes and fourteen seconds later.

Although he was a vocal supporter of women's rights, George Francis Train promptly undertook another journey around the world, to best Nelly's record by finishing within 67 days. A plaque in Tacoma, Washington marks the start and end point of this journey.

Today, anyone (with enough money) can round the world in just a few days, something Phil Keoghan, host of the television show Amazing Race has done many times. In 2009, though, Phil undertook an amazing race of a different nature when he crossed America, from coast to coast on a bicycle to raise funds for research to combat multiple sclerosis. Starting in Los Angeles on the 28th of March, he reached New York City on the 9th of May. Parts of the journey was videoed and released as a film to generate additional funds for the cause.