Weekly Health Tip

See the World and Have No Fear
‘I’m not taking my wife with me to Paris because you don’t
take a sausage roll to a banquet.’ – Winston Churchill

Part of life’s rich tapestry is travel and adventure. Memories of Egypt or Australia will last a lifetime and so will the photos. Sadly, for the last forty years since terrorism has been widely reported, many have adopted a siege mentality and aren’t going anywhere, not even for family. Fear of flying. Fear of bombs. Fear of the fear itself.

As part of my job, I am very fortunate to travel widely. And the world I see is nowhere close to the world of CNN and the BBC. I find stunning vistas, friendly people going about their daily business, different cultures, exotic animals, new experiences and no regrets. What I don’t see are all the muggings, rapes, murders, terrorism and global warming compressed into those half-hour bulletins that give everyone the screaming heebie-jeebies and keep them indoors with the Bovril.

Steer clear of the media! See the world and have no fear. Most of us are stressed and could use a break. We are fortunate that never in the history of mankind since the Vikings has overtaking another’s country been more satisfying to the spirit. It will definitely change your life, ask George Bush.

Then again, perhaps you’ll learn more about other cultures experiencing them face to face, rather than down a bomb-sight at 35,000 feet. Blimey, some of us have even gone off for a trot out there, found somewhere we liked and gone bloody native! On the other hand, if you don’t want your life changed and all your joy is 32, Bettany Gardens, London SW, you’ll appreciate it a lot more if you spend a little time away, and I don’t mean down the pub.

Exercise prudence. Basra might not be the best spot to take Aunt Ruby right now, though I understand Beirut has regained its former reputation as a sizzling hotspot and is back in the travel mags. Adventures mend relationships, break them, get you thinking philosophically about your place in life and stir up your passions. One of my favourite things to do is go somewhere to finish writing a book. I finished The Mind Game in Sorrento, Italy, and had an unforgettable few days exploring Pompeii, the Roman town buried under volcanic ash in 79AD. The Little Book of Attitude was completed looking out the window of a fortified French farmhouse near Falaise, walls peppered with bullet holes from Canadian troops storming the Nazi headquarters. Cancer… was written in California and Texas. Health Wars was started in the Seychelles, written on tour in America and Canada, and completed on the shores of New Zealand’s Lake Taupo with a snow-capped Mount Ruapehu in the distance.

• When it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go
  
• It’s a beautiful world out there
  
• Made for you
  
• Waiting for you
  
• And you can take double the luggage if you go via LA!

For more tips on how to survive 21st Century Planet Earth, get Simple Changes, Your 100 Ways to a Happier, Healthier Life.