Step back inside the bubble

“You’re living in a bubble, Janine.”

I was 16 and had just shared my interpretation of a song’s meaning, seeing the usual magic and mystery in its lyrics. She made me feel like I was naïve and needed a reality check. Her comment told me that I needed to be less hopeful. That I should tone it down a notch. That growing up would require me to be more like her and less like me.

And I believed her. Because we tend to believe what our teachers tell us.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, that moment did become pivotal for me. I started to hear her words from different sources and in different ways over the course of the next 10-15 years. I still do. The investigator/palaeontologist that is my mind took it upon itself to suss out evidence to support her opinion wherever it could find it. And when your mind takes on a mission (particularly if your mind is as stubborn as mine), your mind becomes unstoppable.

Read More