stupidity is the reality: insecurities.

Why do we let little insecurities rule our lives? I have mine, you have yours. They are usually really private things that no one knows about besides ourselves, unless we choose to reveal them to someone. Revealing those insecurities takes a lot of trust and can be very painful to let go of. I've let go of some in the past but still hang on to way too many, harbored from past comments from others or from feelings that I've had about myself since I was a kid. Most of the time, coming out with something you're insecure of has a really good effect, since the trusted ear we whisper it to gives us a little boost by saying, "that's nothing!" or "no big deal! who cares, I don't!"

I'm not going to make this all about revealing my insecurities. I just received some pictures of one of the most powerful, rich, and well-known women of our time, and probably of all time. You know who... Madonna.

In the past few months, the tabloids, newspapers, television shows, and pretty much every media outlet has made fun of her hands, calling them "man-hands" or "skeleton hands". I've seen some of the pictures, and they really do try to make them look bad, if not actually worse than they'd really look in person (rather than on a possibly manipulated picture taken under poor lighting conditions at night).

I looked at these pictures a few minutes ago and realized, with a real degree of sadness, that Madonna has been hurt by these comments. Even though she doesn't watch television or read magazines, she has heard about all of this from some source. This mega star is a real, vulnerable person with real feelings, and now she is covering up. She mentioned in her documentaries of the past that she has insecurities, like her "big Italian thighs" (which is why she wears thigh high boots or really dark and tight fishnet stockings all the time). Now, her hands are also the focus.

Take a look at these pictures that my friend Branko sent me and see what she's doing to try and hide herself and cover up her insecurities.