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!!

Not taking things for granted

Do you ever sit back and think about what it would be like to live with half the things you do now? For instance, without your phone, without a handful of good friends or even without a roof over your head. All of the world there are people living in poverty. There is no light at the end of the tunnel for them, or at least they think.

I want to change the world.

– Start with one act of random kindness a day and you will be on your road to achieving a positive change in the world.

Someone once said to me how it’s not about giving to get, and rightly so, but quite often in return for happiness and all round abundance we do need to offer a service – or in other words – give something back. The world seems to materialistically driven now and technology has certainly emphasised this rapid change in the new paradigm. More than likely you have seen people on the trains or walking down the street with a tunnel vision, oblivious of the world around them. They don’t stop for a moment to take everything in, nor half the time do they recognise the company in which they are serving and fail to take full account of it. Is this living? Are we forgetting what it feels like to actually feel and connect with people in the way that humanity should?

Most things seem to come to an end, and although it can be hard to accept it is something that is out of our control most of the time. This is where the point is raised to not take things for granted and appreciate what’s in front if you whilst it’s there. Embrace it, laugh until your stomach hurts, take pictures (after capturing the moment with your eyes) and surround yourself with the things and people you love.

We don’t always see even if we look.

In the news recently there has been so many disasters occurring all over the world, from the turmoil crisis in Ukraine to the sinking ship in Korea to the missing Malaysian plane.

Lives are being lost all over the world, unreasonably, breaking up families, tearing hearts and shattering what could have been abundant, happy futures. There is no justice for that, and so don’t you think we shouldn’t take for granted all the things that enable us to live a safe and comfortable life?

You never know what tomorrow may bring.

Life is one big adventure

Do you know what it feels like to live on the edge? Do you feel daring enough?

Something I have had figured out lately is that life is full of challenges, and every day we are faced with either a routine or spontaneity. I heard someone say to me today how they volunteered to work for a radio company for 2 years of their life, without getting paid during both of those years, just for the passion for that particular industry; and that only.

I would much rather do something I love and not get paid for it than go to work every day dreading what I do; it would make me so miserable

An amazing outlook, I thought. It’s fascinating nowadays how many people you speak to that say that they are chasing this big dream job just for the money. When you dissect the core interest in the profession, it is usually very minimal.

“Money makes the world go round.” – You must all of heard that one before. It sure does, but I would rather make money for a difference than let it make me different. With lots of money, usually comes more responsibility. Life is all about balance, acting on impulse and doing what you love best.

So this is where I correlate back to ‘living on the edge’, and exploring your “adventurous” side. Before I went travelling back in 2012, I was the most shy girl in my class. I would never had said boo to a goose, and my parents were so shocked that I decided to take the leap of faith and explore the world: on my own. I done it though, and it was the best thing I ever did up to this point in my life. It grew me as a person, it helped me learn things about myself I never previously knew and I had the opportunity to make friends all over the planet.

Life is one big adventure, so why not live your dreams and don’t hold yourself back from what it is you really want to do? Don’t let an external factor of way, a way of living or another person dictate – only you know what it is that makes you truly happy!

Love and Communication

I saw this photo the other day and it really got me in my own bubble:

Beyoncé and Jay Z: be together, work together, real Bonnie & Clyde.

How sweet!

Behind most powerful men there is a powerful woman. When one has the ability to become huge and that is combined with another person, possibilities are endless.

You often see power couples who soar through the media. Victoria and David Beckham: together, seemingly happy, both pursuing their career of expertise and succeeding in so many different avenues including building their own family.

Society has become so driven by money and success, relationship buildings almost seem to be at the back of the agenda now.

Many times before when things were broken between two people, they fixed them instead of giving up and moving on. It wasn’t as easy as it is now to just ‘walk away’, but isn’t it all down to fighting for what you want and not giving up?

Contemporary Living

Isn’t it crazy how quick things change? Transformations happen so rapidly it’s scarce to notice them, until we look back. It’s a heated topic as of course – technology has pushed our society forward – but is it all for the better?

In most developed countries now most individuals own a mobile phone. You will probably appear foolish to most if you declare the negligence of owning such a thing. It has become the norm, the ‘in thing’, the way forward – until you speak to your grandparents.I sat down not long ago and spoke with mine about how life was for them when they were young. “We never owned anything like you do today. We had no gadgets. At Christmas we hardly received anything. We were lucky to have food on our tables, but we were all happy.”

Something I picked up on whilst discussing historical, domesticated life was how people communicated in the open field much more compared to today. People got together, met up to have a laugh and played outdoor games. They enjoyed the now, the present moment, and rarely took things for granted.

I don’t think I could imagine a lifestyle now without having the internet by my side.  I remember back in the days when I was at school when we had non-calculator maths exams. We actually thought for our self! It seems like that was such a long time ago but I am only talking 6 years, and now I hear of exams, which allow you to take notes in.

Of course for most that use it for the right purposes benefit greatly from technology. We can now keep in touch with friends all over the globe via social media, see them in real time as though we are sat right with them. It’s a fantastic thing to have a search engine at the end of our fingertips, but my problem that I have noted is how the generation of today get so caught up in the virtual community.

You can be sat next to many people and you look around and everyone has their head down. They sit there in silence with fingers excreting more energy than ever previously known. Friends will sit together now not knowing what to say because they’ve said most over the Internet. They knew what they were up to an hour previous because of their updated Facebook statuses. Is this a positive? I’m not so sure.

Due to a paradigm shift we have to adapt. We are human beings who naturally adapt to what is around us, so it is only the acceptable way for us in a conforming society. Its become a race against time to get things done, move at the speed of light because of such a high competition. Everyone is after the same thing.

“We could leave our doors open when we were younger, with money in our draw. We knew our community and we could trust our neighbours.”

I looked at my grandparents in complete shock. It sounds like such a miracle to hear that things could be like that and that the trust was there. Trust is hard to find nowadays and just as you think you know someone you will be thrown by something completely out of character.

The Internet has been an amazing development in society and has given us many opportunities. We are more interlinked internationally and globally and allow us to learn many things instantly. An information-overloaded society is an understatement! Look at the news for instance, just as we learn about an event occurring in the world and get to grips we are told something else just a few hours later. Journalists are working all around the clock as they face the pressure to deliver news in real time as they happen. Life has become fast. What will be in the future? It’s scary!

One main premise is that people need to learn to shut off, when to say no, and focus on the present moment. Using the Internet and our smart phones to our advantage is a brilliant invention and gives us that stability to communication when we need it. Employers can search for us online. We put our information out there so freely everyone can know everything about you in just a few minutes! To know who you are, what you want and where you come from is essential when communicating in the virtual community, because you never know who is reading about you!

We are lucky to have that escapism online but I think a balance is definitely needed. Pick up the phone every now and then and ask to meet up with a friend more than you usually would – you’ll find it to be so much more satisfying to laugh and smile in reality rather than talking over Whatsapp of Facebook Messenger! We are all guilty of it but building more awareness and knowing when to put the phone away, I think, would make people so much more happier and would give people more to talk about.