Living in duty free

“There’s two things in this world that are guaranteed, death and taxes.” – Meet Joe Black, 1998.

Imagine living in a tax-free world. The greed that exists in society tears people and relationships apart, that’s why it’s good to not let your life be run by money. And that’s where our government goes wrong and all of those with political power. They can and do cover up their spends just to avoid paying tax, but ordinary citizens in society don’t stand a chance. It’s completely and morally wrong.

The amount of flaws in the tax system is insanely aggravating and unethical. The fact that there is such thing as inheritance tax when someone dies and leaves money and half goes to the government, when the person/people leaving behind the money or assets has worked hard, payed tax while working yet more tax is still to be paid. It’s CRAZY.

So imagine the life of living duty free. There is no such thing, but there can be in the mind. We can choose to not let the restrictions and rules that is set by the system to bother us or upset us, we can live a life of freedom in our minds, be peaceful and happy and not be beaten, because that’s what they want to happen – for ordinary citizens who has to pay into the system to get bothered by it. They want people to be stalled from living a happy and carefree life – they love the idea of us being stressed.

So remember happiness is the most important thing in life – to you and your loved ones. Support one another, learn the rules and avoid these rules (legally complying) the most you can!!

“The system doesn’t want you to change”

When you think about categorisation many things spring to mind, but when you look a little further it’s actually quite scary when you consider just how robotic we have all become. ‘Patience is a virtue’ is an overused phrase but actually very relevant to human beings. If you look at the underground or on the motorway, I would say the majority of people are in a rush and the world is just passing them by. It’s possible that days feel like second because people forget or don’t know how to live in the present moment.

When looking at the system and how things are taught to us and categorised, it scares me, thinking that creativity is not fully being encouraged in the younger generation. Why is it little time is being spent teaching music to people and art? And more focus is being placed on ‘academic’ stuff.

People are afraid to enter a creative industry and do what they love because they’re taught ‘not much money will be made from that’. Self-fulfilling prophecy – if you tell somebody they can’t do something, even if they can, after a while they will start to believe that they actually can’t and that’s why incantations are so powerful to introduce . By saying a positive statement every day it becomes believable and then comes true. ‘What you think is what you become.’ No matter what you want out of life if you believe in it enough you can be and achieve ANYTHING. If you tell yourself and assure yourself you are the best at a particular thing, magical shifts will occur in your life – I promise you.

So believe in your opinion and follow your heart but remember that your intuition is there for a reason. There is nothing more expensive  than a graveyard full of lost dreams that people never acted upon. If we follow our dreams and persist in what we want, we can be in sync and harmony with ourselves.

See, Ask, Believe, Achieve

The truth behind marketing

Do you not find it quite scary the power that marketing has over our wants and needs? I realised this one day when I was walking around a supermarket, and out of the blue I wanted something I would never usually want. And this was because of an advert I had watched on TV a few nights prior. Businesses who hire companies to market their products and services are that powerful for a reason, and certainly shape our desires without us even realising.

An element to this that one can feel quite strongly about is how happy do materials actually make us? I find it quite worrying that people thrive off the new church now, the shopping mall, and save up so much money (most of their earnings even), just to buy the latest Lipsy dress as designed by Michelle Keegan. After a while this dress or item (whatever it may be) becomes boring and old, and the whole cycle starts again.

Where a point is missing behind the overall message is that love and connection need the same if not more feeding than physical commodities that attract us in a shop window, or online. Jealousy can spark so many problems for people and so it does and is visible all around us, and where does this get us? Absolutely nowhere.

I think people need to be more conscious about their decisions and how important ‘buying stuff’ really is. Is it a want or is really needed?

Couldn’t we be doing more and actually helping those who are less fortunate? That’s what stands out in the current education system, teachers are taught to educate their students about all of the wrongdoing in the world, all the geographical and historical problems that surround us, but little do they teach what humanity is doing about it. Why are schools not placing more focus on spiritual awareness and inner consciousness? Why may it be that the majority of students do not to understand how to meditate and put their mind-set back to delta where their capacity is optimum?

I think the structure is a little backwards (in ways) and more importance should be placed on really bringing out the best in people, their passions and deep down desires so that every single person who leaves school, college or university feel that they are doing what they should be and not what is brainwashed upon them to earn ‘money’.

I mean what is money anyway and does it really buy happiness? I find the most happiest moments of my life are spent with people I love and cherish, laughing under the stars endlessly to a silly joke or dining with my family reminiscing along memory lane. Surely that’s what really matters?

If the entire world could embrace, accept and spread love, then I’m almost certain the world would be a better place. Love is the answer.

Moving movies for students

We all love a good film, right? There is nothing better than chilling out on your own, with some friends or family and putting on a great film that will bring out your emotions. We tend to watch a film to ‘feel something’, or to inspire us in a relatable kind of way. Here is what SPARK. can recommend:

Before Sunrise – this nineties film relates to the student ambition of wanting to travel. Most of us have a dream to travel abroad and meet new people, right? This film highlights that we should accept every opportunity that comes our way: like going to college or being accepted into university or accepting a job offer.

Pay It Forward – this story is based on a boy that sees life slightly differently to other people. He has a great idea to bring the world together, as one. It is very touching and will leave you feeling and believing that anything is possible! If you watch this, it can almost be guaranteed that you will be emotionally satisfied.

Whip It – this is another must see. It is part sports and part coming-of-age and it shows an ex-beauty queen finding herself as a person and what it is that really makes her happy deep down. She takes risks and finds her own inner-strength, something most students are striving to do before approaching ‘adulthood’.

500 Days Of Summer – this film focuses on the feeling of rejection and feeling alone. It’s about a guy who gets stuck at a job he hates because he is afraid to take a risk and pursue his dream – to become an architect. It teaches us to follow our ambition no matter how silly they may seem to those around you.

The Pursuit Of Happyness – this film tells the tale of Chris Gardner who takes himself away from his old life of sleeping on the streets to a

Competition

Competition is a topic that most of us are familiar with as many of us battle with it on the daily. We find ourselves looking at others, sharing similar interests as our friends and comparing ourselves to the models we see on the television screens.

Growing up and having a sincere, deep-rooted passion for education, I have always taken notice of the academic system and the ways others respond around one another. I have always been my own person – never feeling the pressure to confine or conform or follow anyone else – because it is about my time and how I choose to spend it. Of course we cannot be selfish and not consider the thoughts and feelings of others because it’s always admired to be empathetic and caring, but there comes a time when we need to stand up for what we believe in and be selfish for a change.

Coming to university has really broadened that vision for me whereby if you try to be like everyone else, inside of you just breaks apart and you barely know who you are.

“Why do I keep following these people yet I don’t want to do it? I’m scared of being alone so I need to keep tagging along…”

This is all completely wrong but unfortunately, so many of us experience these emotions even me! We are not perfect but that’s okay, the first step is recognising what needs to be changed to make you a happier person. Happiness on the inside radiates outwards – fact.

So how do I deal with going to university studying Journalism at the University of Westminster full of a professional journalists, just like me, some below my standard and some above it? I use the competition to my advantage by feeding off of other people’s energies. Instead of envying and hating other people, I admire and I learn adapting others skills to my own strengthening my skill-set altogether.

By changing perspectives and altering your initial vision, try to see the positive in everything because it really all depends on how you see it. When a time comes and you hit rock bottom and all you can feel rush over you is negativity, all of that can be changed in an instant by thinking happy thoughts, remembering back to good times and just being grateful for being you! Don’t let competition get the better of you.

Focus on yourself and watch yourself shine.

Your persona/ego

A pressure can be felt to be or to act in a certain kind of way in order for us to fit in with our group of friends, our circle or to even break through the ice and make new friends. When it reaches this point, a type of ‘persona’ kicks in and we find ourselves pretending to be something we’re not, doing things we wouldn’t usually do and saying a whole bunch of new words that are completely out of the ordinary.

I don’t know how many times I have noticed people’s false personalities shine through because I have lost count, but when you know someone for who they truly are – who they are both proud of as a person and comfortable with – then it can feel very disappointing witnessing it. I always try to encourage people to be themselves: my friends, my family, my man and even myself at times when I get lost in the moment. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re practicing for a drama play or you are part of a performing arts college then this sort of stuff is considered normal and it’s likely you’ll carry your professional traits into reality. But we should always be proud of who we want to be and be the best version of it.

Smile and scream out loud if you have to – if the whole world was the same…full of gorgeous, reasonably skinny girls or fit muscular men with stunning features then surely it would be a boring place. Mixture and variety is what makes it fun and it gives us all an opportunity to branch out and be unique. We all have amazing things about ourselves to show off and of course we have our downsides, but who doesn’t? Learn to love your flaws, be proud of them and don’t deny them – they make you who you are!

Your persona can be a good thing in adaptable situations, say for example if you are going for an interview you need to show the classier side of yourself rather than the immature jokey kind of person that you tend to fall into when you’re around friends and family. I mean if you can’t love yourself who do you expect to love you? We have to find it from within ourselves what makes us beautiful individuals, and then trust me, the world will see you in the same way.

At times of need

It’s always nice to be there for your loved ones at times of need. We all get our bad days where we feel like doing absolutely nothing and all we want to do is sit in bed and feel sorry for ourselves. Then we just need a shoulder to lean on, somebody to moan to and be listened to. Like they say a problem shared is a problem solved, or halved, so don’t ever be afraid to speak up.

Something else that happens magically during the touch times is that it brings people closer together, it makes us more connected beings as we feel ourselves emotionally trying to understand one another. Undoubtedly, our mobiles phones and the way that society is moving forward is bringing people further and further apart, so it’s always recommended to put your devices away once in a while and especially when you’re in the company of other people. It gives you space to communicate face to face and ‘feel the moment’ more than possible through typing on a screen.

We are not on our own when we feel down because we all have our moments. We shouldn’t feel different or odd or strange in any kind, sometimes it’s nice to cleanse our souls because it’s lifes way of preparing us for something bigger and better. Sometimes we need to hit rock bottom and to not give up no matter what, prove to ourselves and others our worth and then we shall be rewarded.

Patience is a virtue – literally. So let’s share the love and embrace the happy times and even the sad times, because for sure we are all going through this adventure together so appreciate every step.

Clear view and multiple-perspectives

It can be quite eye-opening when we view a scenario from a different point of view. To any one situation there can be more than one perspective on it as everyone sees things differently. Whether you’re involved or not, it’s always mature to stop for a moment and flip the coin. How do they see it and why do I see it so differently?

What I have learned is that we all go through mental torture at some points in our life, emotionally or maybe just to do with our hormones or maybe we are just out of sync in our lives, so we have to remain open-minded enough to understand and accept people’s opinions, it’s their entitlement after all.

Having a clear view of the world – it’s not as easy as it looks. But if we can be present in our living and learn to love the beauty that surrounds us like nature and all the fascinating beings we socialise with on a daily, we may actually be surprised by the clear view we begin to see in ourselves.

We may define our purpose and work towards our goal with a more stronger mind-set because our focus is not on everyone else because we just learn to accept what is and leave space to grow within ourselves.

So let’s keep an open-mind and next time we are about to jump to conclusions we should take a step back and try to see things from more than one point of view. That way we will become more rounded and approachable beings, and we will be able to interact with just about anyone on a happy and understanding level, learning so much about ourselves at the same time. 🙂

You are what you eat

We can be very easily swayed nowadays to just pick up the quickest thing that comes our way to fill us up, which is usually fast food. What most of us don’t realise is the high impact eating junk can have on our bodies, and how it has an effect on almost every area of our life. It affects us mentally too as the ingredients we consume all individually create different emotions, cravings and other bizarre yet uncontrollable desires. If we eat clean we tend to think clean because we feel good about ourselves. It all has a knock-on effect which ultimately, has a positive influence on our lives.

It can be so easy to drive through the drive-thru at Mcdonald’s and quickly pick up a cheap deal that can then be eaten in no more than 5 minutes. Then most of us feel guilty afterwards so we feel down about it, in an unconscious way, which can then fire lots of negative emotions instead of making you feel alive and fresh.

So the cliché saying ‘you are what you eat’ really does have relevance to our everyday lives, because in essence, we are what we eat. The people you see running down the street every morning training hard physically, they are also training themselves mentally to be productive and to be disciplined within their own bodies. Training our minds can be challenging because we can constantly be faced with drawbacks, but it’s important we don’t let the badness get in our way. Keep moving forward and keep striving, if today is a bad day, tomorrow is another day.

Most of us are so close to reaching success but we give up. Don’t be that person! Be the controller of what you consume into your body, everything you intake has to be processed and broken down in a way to be utilised. Lets use our energy in a way we truly desire rather than stunting ourselves because of irrational and quick decisions.

We are all connected

‘We are all connected’ – and quite literally. We have been produced by two beings who has friends who has friends and so on. We all have a mind, body and soul and we all share energy with one another – sometimes we bounce off of that energy, sometimes we clash against it and sometimes we feel empty because there feels like no connection exists at all.

Yet we are all spiritually linked in some form or manner it’s about opening up our minds to the idea. Much of it begins with the core ‘belief’, something which many of us lacks due to disappointment, being let down, the poisonous media that injects negative stories into our minds all of the time and other emotional/physical/mental factors that may be specific to ourselves and only ourself can understand. All of that is okay but what if we just thought twice next time and instead of shrugging someone off we actually gave them a chance… a chance to speak, to share, to express and most importantly, to connect.

Connection is an amazing feeling and it’s where an abundance of joy exists. All round abundance is all of the elements of life feeling complete to one person, and much of it begins with a shared energy flow between two or more individuals. When we keep things to ourself we are shutting ourselves off to all that we know, and what great use is that to us if we wish to broaden our horizon?

So please if you wish to connect with me send me an email! I am always looking to meet new people and embark on new adventures, as well as looking for new challenges within my career: gemmaleighsmith@hotmail.co.uk

Alis Volat Propriis – She flies her own wings – xo

Get together with your friends rather than communicating via social media, it’s the ‘real stuff’ that makes a difference.