Workshop by the renowned wildlife and travel photographer : Richard Bernabe

Iceland Winter Photo Workshop and Tour 2020 – Reykjavik, Iceland 
January 19 – 28, 2020 …Read it here

This is so one of those bucket-list things!

The Log Book
Entry 1
Hi there, thanks for being curious enough to read my logbook. I will journal some essential things that touched me in the last few days. Maybe even my thoughts, intentions, ideas, plans, who knows?… Let’s see how it goes.

My philosophy in life is quite natural; I go with the flow and take it easy whenever I can. I have come to this point after many life lessons and after living in a fast-paced work environment where ambition was so important to me! Without which, I thought people might consider me lazy and goalless. Happy to say I don’t go by that mindset anymore, my time and life are too precious for trivial things like climbing up a corporate ladder whatever the reason might be!

Let’s go on then!
What I am about to journal is a story that happened to me quite unconsciously, while in a casual conversation with someone. It did leave an impact on me, which I think deserves mention here.
I was recently invited to lunch by one of my closest girlfriends. Love her to bits!! I spent this beautiful hot, sunny day with her and family and some more friends of hers. At some point, later that evening while the sunset, I got into an intense conversation with a troubled friend of hers.

What she told me was heart-breaking! I still have to learn to separate my emotions from situations like this, because I tend to empathize with the person confiding in me. Her story made me realize once again, that this life isn’t entirely fair with everyone. She, like many others, has been through so much, ever since her birth, through her youth and till now as a grown woman. True that all of us have our share of sadness and suffering, but stories like this make you put everything into perspective, leaving you with this feeling of…’ You have it easy…still.’
All through our conversation, she was very fidgety which gave me the impression that she was still uncomfortable with the whole thing, still working it out, trying to stay strong to hold it together, but she was struggling!

And then it dawned on me, that somehow her speaking about it made her feel better, feel more in charge. Airing out her experiences gave her the realization that she had been through hell, but she was here now, strong enough to speak about it. I asked her if she wanted to tell her story to other people, who might be in a similar situation as she was in. It might help them understand that no matter how hard or painful life is, there are many struggling with it, and with positivity, they might overcome!
She smiled brightly, and without any hesitation at all, replied, “Yes, I would!” It seemed to me that this was another step she wanted to climb, another proof to her of her increment in strength, her way of helping or merely giving back! She understood that her survival, her daily struggles might serve as signs, triggers to help other women/men!

The topic of abuse of other human beings is extremely sensitive and hard for some of us to hear about and bear, but it is still very much existent!
None of us can imagine what it feels like to be physically abused by someone else, and it isn’t something to be taken lightly. But it is a reality! Picture this: You are being pushed, slapped, hit by another person, while you can’t fight back as you are in a state of panic, fear, maybe even in shock! You have fallen, on the ground now, and they are kicking you, while you try to protect yourself the best way you can with your hands and arms…you curl up, through the intense pain! But it’s not just this, imagine having onlookers around you, who don’t come forward to help, why you ask??? Maybe out of fear or shock too or simply because they think you deserve it, I wouldn’t know!

Critical questions to be asked here are:

• What would you do if you were in that situation?

• What would you do if you were one of the bystanders there?

• How do you learn to live and cope with that after?

What about something else…mental abuse! It’s just as bad, sometimes worse because people endure it for years failing to understand that they are ‘gas-lighted‘ on by someone they trust and live with under what they call normal circumstances. I recently learned about this term ‘gas-lighting‘ from another friend, who is also a Life Coach. I would advise all of you to read more on it; there is so much information available online. I have always said and agree that ‘Awareness is the first step towards healing.’

I know this might be disturbing for many of us, but I want to help, or at least try. I decided then that I would work on a podcast series where I will speak to people, that have had particularly harsh situations, but how somehow they have managed to grow positively from it: real people, real situations, and lots of exceptional courage. I want to keep it real! Sometimes you can see generations from the same family, troubled with similar experiences like mothers and daughters being mistreated by their partners…maybe comparative to the saying: “We become our parents!” Not to mention it involves everyone, women and men!
I know that listening to the experiences of other people who have struggled and survived will help and impact all of us in some way, serving as a knowledgeable life lesson!

Here is my first log. Keep a lookout for my next one soon! Till then take care of yourselves and each other!

P.S. – Yesterday on my drive back from dinner, I had an alcohol control! Gees haven’t had one in years, so I was excited to see the cops there with their breathalyzer apparatus, queuing up the cars ahead of me. A pretty, young lady officer requested me to blow into something I hadn’t seen before, probably a newer version, because ages ago, I remember I had to exhale till I was nearly out of breath, now though, I didn’t even have to touch it, a simple light breath was sufficient! The little LED turned green, and I giggled and made a “yeah” triumphant gesture with my hands, which she laughed at too. In my happy stupor, I asked if I had earned my “BOB” keychain, she smiled proceeding to hand me my “BOB” keychain….

Love it! Cheers to all the safe drivers out there!

Source – Chriselda Barretto

Electric Cars 101: The Answers to All Your EV Questions…Read it here

Interesting read!

Source – Yahoo news

Condemned – A Short Story By Chriselda Barretto

Fay took off her mask. Delicately separating the layer of lab-made human skin from her metallic structure. She was well designed, an innovation of her time, probably first and last ever made.Her thoughts going back to that ill fated day when he destroyed her father’s lab. Her father, her God, her creator, her family. How could he destroy all that she had and loved in a second of a moment?

“Hide Fay, go into your coffin and stay there…I will come get you,”  she recalled, the last few words of instruction given by her father! She didn’t see him after, all gone, destroyed by the fire ‘he‘ had set. She survived the fire, with her last remaining skin, designed especially for her. She vowed coming out of the coffin, out of the ashes, that revenge would be her saviour! Her journey to finding salvation was near! ……….

One of mine :), Read the continuation to this story in my upcoming book “Shorter”…

Source – Moi 🙂

Read more books written by Chriselda Barretto

Read her latest book: Must Love Poetry

The Top Destinations of 2019 for Young Travelers…Read it here

Source – travelpulse.com