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If you have the luxury to hop on a plane you're lucky. And, I was one of the lucky one this year. My exploration of the world had unfortunately been on a bit of a pause, but in 2019, I was able to fly to the other side of the world and land in Africa. This trip was a great reminder that travel is a gift. Vacation Withdrawal
Like anyone who returns home after a holiday, I was filled with mixed emotions. Although, it's nice to be home--it was quite fabulous to be away on vacation. A vacation for me, means my senses are in overdrive, my brain is buzzing, every day is different, and filled with new friends and meeting the locals. Now that I'm home, I have the luxury to process what 'went down' so to speak and will blog about it in the future. But in the interim, I will keep it short and sweet. I want to mention one of the things I was reminded of while I was away...I wish everyone had the privilege of being able to travel to a foreign country. Travel is a Gift Travel opens your mind and heart in a way that cannot be opened unless you're immersed in a world that's different from the one you were raised in. Morocco is one of the most stunning countries I have ever set foot in and the Moroccan people are friendly and kind. THEY ARE LOVELY. Morocco's population is 99% Muslim. In today's unfortunate climate of 'them vs us,' travel shows you there is no 'them,' it's 'we.' And, 'we' are all in this world together. I HIGHLY recommend travelling to Morocco, or Central America, or Asia...anywhere that's different from the familiar. I am most grateful to have been able to explore Morocco and so many different pockets of the world. I can hardly wait for the next adventure. Now, back to processing. Stay tuned for 'what went down.'
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I can be VERY disciplined when I want to. When I first started writing, people used to say to me…“you must be so disciplined.” It was a label that I wore with pride. I took the prospect of writing a novel seriously and I knew that if I didn’t dedicate the time to my work it wouldn’t get done. So, I chained myself to my desk just as I did when I worked in an office. I gave myself regular office hours and I believed wholeheartedly any time away from my desk was cheating. In theory, this may sound like a good idea whereas, this type of self-inflicted hard-core discipline was not. Although, discipline is both admirable and necessary to ‘get it done’ there is a time to be disciplined, and there is a time when you need to break that chain and run from that desk. Unfortunately, I did not learn this lesson right away and spent many a day sitting at my desk pulling my hair out and no further ahead at the end of the day. Break Free & Leave that Desk Behind I have since learned that when having a bad day, or moment, the BEST thing I can do is to put that desk behind me—get up and go for a walk, go to the gym, listen to a podcast, make a coffee—anything that gets me moving and/or my mind stimulated. Walking away from my desk is not cheating. It’s giving my brain a break and allowing the door to productivity to come on in. Any time I’ve left be it for 5 minutes or an hour and fort-five minute guaranteed when I get back to my desk I’ll be focused and ready to roll. I believe that to write—or anything for that matter, the first thing you must do is show up and yes, you must be dedicated but there’s a fine balance between discipline and hair pulling. Before I started writing this post, Freddie Mercury’s voice randomly popped in to my head…I want to break free. I want to break free. The lyrics stuck and mid-way through the post, I found myself on YouTube. After I’d finished listening to Queen I came back to my blog and whipped it off in no time. OK…I will acknowledge that perhaps, you can have a break while still at your desk, but my message is still the same... it is perfectly acceptable to break free from your work in fact, I highly encourage it. With my hair intact, here’s a little Queen to get you through the day. I continue to be fascinated—and not in a good way, of the UK’s coverage of Prince Andrew’s questionable connection with convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein. If the papers dedicated as many headlines and real estate to this subject as they did to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s private jet rides than this newsworthy story would have bumped the duo right off the front page--and rightfully so. In continuing with the crappy coverage, the papers have opted to gloss over another blip in the Prince Andrew’s world. In the wake of the negative coverage, the Prince hired Jason Stein, a communications specialist to help repair and rebuild his image. Stein resigned a month into his new gig. I don’t know about you but the first thing that pops into my head is…geez, that would be a big blow for a Prince who’s trying to recoup his image. You would think that there would be A LOT of follow up on this one. Especially given that this was what happened to Meghan Markle when multiple members of her staff resigned. Her character was on the line, she was referred to as a ‘horrible boss’ and someone with ‘diva demands.’ The coverage of her staff leaving dominated the front pages as did the attacks on her character. There was not a lot of space dedicated to ‘small’ little details such as positions being temporary or the staff members who adored her. I googled away and can tell you at the time of this post there is surprisingly little spotlight shone on Prince Andrew’s spin doctor quitting. Just to regroup here…Prince Andrew has been allegedly accused of participating in an orgy with underage girls and, having intimate relations with a 17- year-old on three occasions. Seriously?! His spin-doctor quitting after such a short stint is not newsworthy especially given the background of why he needed to be hired in the first place. Unlike Markle, Prince Andrew has not been graced with a slew of adjectives to describe his character or his behaviour. I for one, can think of some adjectives. Fortunately, in the UK there are people are coming to Meghan's defense. On October 29th, I was thrilled to see that 72 female British MP’s, from multiple parties signed an open letter in support of Meghan Markle, the letter stated the UK newspapers unfair attacks on Markle violated her privacy and “can only be described as outdated, colonial undertones.” In other words, the articles have racist undertones. Bravo ladies! Thank you for speaking up and challenging the newspaper’s bad behaviour. As for Prince Andrew and his alleged bad behaviour, I am still waiting for the flurry of articles in the UK media that attack his character and thoroughly question his role in the Jeffery Epstein sex trafficking ring. Isn't that what newspapers are supposed to do? Something to think about...I'll leave you with a video of Amy Robach on the set of 20/20 speaking on hot mic after Epstein's death in July 2019. It was a private conversation that was leaked on Nov 5th. It will be interesting to see how long the powerful forces behind this man of privilege are able to protect him and I'd like to know why Meghan is not given the same consideration. And it continues....OK…my can we please leave Meghan Markle alone rant from last week has to continue due to the continued antics in the press. I’m sure by now you’ve heard HRH The Duchess of Sussex is the first guest editor in British Vogue's 103-year history. The September issue Forces for Change features 15 women who Meghan considers to be trailblazers. Among them are actors, models, politicians, authors and advocates. The focus is female empowerment, diversity, mental health and climate change; all are causes which Meghan is passionate about. Also included, is a candid conversation between former first Lady Michelle Obama and Prince Harry interviews Dr. Jane Goodall —I love it! A noble endeavour, especially in today’s volatile climate. You would think…this would be a solid win for Meghan—it wasn’t. Meghan Can't WinHere's what her critics had to say...
1. Where was The Queen on Meghan’s list? A big over site! A major faux pas! Meghan snubbed the Queen! How could Meghan not to include the world’s longest reigning monarch on her list of trailblazers?! This much admired and respected monarch is the epitome of duty, dignity, responsibility, service and tradition. And, as a royal she has successfully kept her nose out of political matters. Yes, the monarchy has slowly evolved under her reign…William married a commoner, Harry married a bi-racial divorcee—a couple of very admirable examples. There is no doubt the Queen is 'solid' and inspirational and deserves to be celebrated but I'm sorry... a 'force of change,' she is not. 2. When Meghan opted not to appear on the cover because according to editor Edward Enninful, “In the end, she felt that it would be in some ways a ‘boastful’ thing to do for this particular project,” Enninful explained on the magazine’s website. “She wanted, instead, to focus on the women she admires.” What do her critics do? They claim Meghan not wanting to be featured on the cover because it is 'boastful' is an underhanded slight at her sister in-law The Duchess of Cambridge who appeared on the cover in 2016. Which must mean that Meghan also thinks that when Diana, The Princess of Wales and Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice appeared on the cover they too were being ‘boastful.’ Geez-Louise people take it in context and note the key phrasing…she wanted to focus on the women she admires and not herself…it had NOTHING to do with Kate so can we please stop pitting these two women against each other. 3. Another criticism…Meghan's role is to promote Britain yet, there were only 5 British women on the list. Sooo, then it would have been acceptable if the list was exclusively British women? I suspect not. Call me crazy but Meghan was born in the US so she's bound to have American influences too (and there were 5) and, we live in a global world, with global issues, therefore I don't understand the problem of featuring a list of global women. Aren't we all in this making the world a better place together? Also, wasn't this list Meghan's choice? 4. And, compliments of Piers Morgan one of my personal favourites, the list wasn't inclusive because it did not include men. Yes Piers, I can see why this was a complaint because throughout history there has never been any attention given to men's accomplishments...SERIOUSLY!? 5. If Meghan could take the time to meet with Vogue during her maternity leave she should have taken the time to meet Donald Trump and Melania during their state visit. OK...perhaps there's some merit with this one but let's cut her some slack as maternity time is her time off and the meetings with Vogue were done in private, they were not a formal state occasion. Although, Meghan can't win with the press, she certainly wins with me and the readers in Britain who queued up to purchase a copy of Vogue which went on sale today. Also worthy of mention, the September British issue of Vogue is currently on eBay for 5x's the cover price (£19.99). WAY TO GO MEGHAN! A BIG thanks for highlighting these incredible women. I'd like to invite you to meet Meghan/Vogue's 15 Forces For Change. Since my return from a cycling vacation, I feel like I have one foot in Morocco and the other, in Canada. To assist myself with the post-vacation slump recovery, I've put together a photo compilation of some of my favourite Morocco moments. I hope you enjoy the pictures and are enticed to explore this absolutely magnificent country. We cycled with a fabulous group of people; to respect their privacy I have opted to post pictures that do not include close-ups of their lovely faces. Wishing you and your family a festive holiday season! Thank you for visiting my blog.
May your new year be filled with lot's of laughter and inspiration. |
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