‘The Impossible’

Immediately upon seeing this incredible movie, I knew I had to write about it.

How though, can someone write on something that leaves them so speechless? Throughout the movie, I was either in tears, holding my breath, cringing in horror or in awe of the beauty of it all. Never before has a movie been able to leave me as this one did. Still in shock 30 minutes later, I was in the process of really thinking about what I had seen, and how it had impacted me.

The underlying message that really stood out to me was that in the times when all hope seems lost and when your worst nightmare turns into a reality, the human heart has every opportunity to show compassion and love. People reaching out to absolute strangers in acts of support…I honestly even now find it difficult to find the words to say.

The most powerful part, for me, was the sudden realisation that this movie was based on a true story of survival. That the family still lives today and had to live through such a terrifying experience.

That thousands of other families had to go through the same thing.

That so many people were lost.

That so many families were torn apart.

So much loss.

So much pain.

However…so much hope.

Surely in those instances, we can only hold onto the saying, “the night is darkest before the dawn”.

In conclusion, this movie is a must see. I believe it will go down in history alongside the likes of ‘The Titanic’.

I cannot put words to such a magnificent film as this…all I can say is I am so grateful for life, and the opportunity to live safely. I am awed by the human heart and it’s will to survive. I am truly humbled.

Money money money money money!

Ah…I’m not even old enough to legally drive a car by myself and I’m already stressing about how in the world I’m going to afford one!
Of course, everyone always says that in order for you to succeed in life you should take little steps at a time and not worry about the future…but it’s really hard to when you begin to realise that owning a car isn’t the only expense you’ll be dealing with. House, job, food, rent, family, travel, healthcare, the list goes on!
For some reason though, it’s when your forced to give up something that you really love that money becomes your biggest enemy.

Learning to deal with disappointment is difficult. No matter who you are or how rich you are…it sucks! Literally having to take a step back and tell yourself that it’s “too much” isn’t an easy step to make.

Near the end of last year, my mum and I had become pretty set on going to Kenya on a missions trip. It’s something we’d both wanted to do for a very long time, and it seemed entirely achievable. The funds were glanced over and we already started to plan how we would get time off school for me, and how dad would go on his own for a couple of weeks. It was only after a month or so that my mum first started realising how hard it was going to be on the family to have to pay such an exorbitant amount of money that we just couldn’t risk putting toward the trip. When I was confronted about this, I not only felt betrayed and angry, but I felt like I was letting down a whole heap of people who were on board with my trip. My school had offered their support and my group of friend were more than willing to help me fundraise and spread awareness. I’d worked myself into this state of mind where nothing would stop me going to Kenya, nothing. And then reality came pelting down on our heads as subtle as a sledgehammer.

We just can’t afford it.

Not because it wasn’t a worthwhile trip, but that the money earned by my father needed to go toward bills and mortgage and cars and food and family and this and that and the other…. It was really heartbreaking.

The first few weeks I admit I was in denial. I drew up plans about how I was going to make the money for the deposit in a small number of months. I was sure I’d have a part time job before Christmas, and I was confident that I could maintain a budget that would get me over the red line.

Sadly, life doesn’t always work like that. The hours I spent searching for work, both online and in person, didn’t pay off. My family had to cut down majorly on spending so that we could reach our bill payments, and we had to live life pretty carefully so that we could sustain ourselves comfortably, as well as ensuring my parents had a future.

The hardest part was seeing my friends with jobs, earning money and saving money and spending money. I knew that if  I had the chance I would be saving every penny I earned and putting it toward this trip that I so desperately felt myself being called to. However it gave me quite a wake up call.

We are taught that when life gets us down, we are to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and find a way to press forward. Sure…I might not be able to go to Kenya this year, and it might be difficult for the next few months with the awkward “actually…i’m not going anymore” speeches, but that hasn’t stopped my determination. There’s no rule that says if I can’t afford it now I won’t afford it in a year, or two years. There’s nothing that stops me from actively working in my immediate community and supporting other friends who are going on missions of their own.

For anyone out there who has had to give something up because of the issue of money, I encourage you not to loose heart. The more you strive for your dreams, the better it will feel when you catch them!

Alice

 

A teaspoon of sugar might now be irrelevant…

As the modern world advances, we can find it increasingly difficult to rely on the merry old tune sung by Miss Poppins, or even any old tune for that fact. Children aren’t valuing the important stories in classic movies or old fairytales, and are unfortunately becoming more consumed in technology and media. All around the world, but especially in developed countries, we have an epidemic of sad kids growing up to be sad and unequipped adults.

It’s scientifically proven that more time spent on computers and a virtual reality and less time spent interacting with other people can lead to serious mental health issues such as depression. However it also causes a massive lack of “people skills”, as one might say.

I’ll admit, I’m not perfect and there’s been many times when I’ve found myself seriously unhappy without truly understanding why. Amazingly, when visiting villages in Fiji that were massively underdeveloped and had a lack of basically everything I was used to in my comfortable western life, I was hard pressed to find one person suffering from sadness. Their vivacity and love of life was astonishing and difficult to understand, however it was also incredibly infectious. When I think back to my time spent there and all the people I met and bonded with, I have nothing but admiration for their spirit and energy.

Arriving home was a difficult shift, coming from a place where it would only take you 5 minutes to know everyone within the town to a place where people don’t even want to look at you, let alone know you are. I found myself slipping back into the routine of my previous existence.

And it’s hit me pretty hard.

There are people out there who find it hard to be unhappy. They just seem to possess some kind of internal switch that is forever on the “glass half full” side. The truth is, they’ve learnt to just take their life and their situations as they come, and through that they’ve discovered how to give themselves the key to happiness.

I may not be an expert, but I’ve come up with a few ideas that I think are the universal cure for our never-ending sadness.

Number 1: Why surround yourself with people who make you unhappy? It can be difficult to admit to yourself that who you’ve associated yourself with aren’t exactly the best kinds of people. Perhaps they have different opinions to you, or they just get on your nerves. Whatever the reason is, there’s no justification for prolonging your suffering. What will happen (and I can guarantee it) is that you’ll begin to fall into a routine, conform and end up exactly what you said you’d never be. Separating yourself from situations where you’re not feeling good is not only a good idea, it’s the right idea.

Number 2: Alone time is good….but you also need someone to trust. Believe me, I have trust issues. I might have a group of close friends but I find it hard telling them things that are really getting me down. I have always told myself I never want to appear a burden, but I only end up burdening myself.
The worst possible option is to keep it all inside yourself, the next worst is to just blurt it out to someone you don’t really know all that well, straight after that is telling everyone you know. So as you can see…there’s a loooooot of wrong options when it comes to this. However it really isn’t that hard to pick someone you feel close to, spend time investing in your relationship with them, and maybe in time you’ll have a mutual trust that allows you to talk about things together. The probability is they’ll thank you for it too, everyone needs a shoulder to lean on.

Number 3: Find a “thing”. Everyone needs a “thing”. Something that they love that totally doesn’t need an explanation. You might have this secret love for knitting tea cosies…can’t explain it? Neither can the people who religiously watch NCIS… but who really cares? These things make up who you are, and your individuality is the greatest attribute. You never know what you might find by pursuing what you truly love, happiness…like minded people…skills…love?

Number 4: Don’t withhold. I think these days, people are scared to laugh at themselves, or even other people. If you find something funny. Laugh. If you see something you want to participate in. Do it. If you want to tell someone they’re special to you. Go for it!

Wouldn’t you hate to look back on your life and realise you missed a great opportunity because fear held you back?

Number 5: Pass it on. Making other people happy is bound to make you happy in the process. If you have no one to teach, teach your dogs. Teach your kids. Teach your little sister. Teach your parents. Teach your co-workers. Teach yourself.
We have the means to give the greatest gift possible to so many people, and it’s about time we started giving it.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated…keep smiling…there’s no reason why you can’t be happy!

Great Expectations

When someone has “GREAT expectations”, you expect them to be great….right? However more often than not, a great expectation could just be living out the day, or to find ones purpose in life.

Of course what prompted this post is in fact the great classic by Charles Dickens, ‘Great Expectations’, in which a boy of little significance embarks to find his fortune, status and ‘great’ purpose.

A particular quote stood out to me from this excellent book…

Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before–more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.

It’s a difficult concept to grasp, the importance of crying. Crying is so often associated with sadness, defeat, weakness and immaturity that it’s really become something many humans are ashamed of.

I challenge this…what is more pure, more heartfelt and more vibrantly emotional than the expression of tears? It doesn’t always symbolise sadness…it can in fact show gratitude, overwhelming joy or surprise, or perhaps even love.

I believe that for someone to cry does not show weakness, it shows a certain courage that is rarely found. To show people your most raw emotions and to lay it on the table. For after all…we are just humans and we cannot help but feel things immensely. More importantly, to be able to cry is one thing, but to accept someone elses tears as precious is an entirely different matter.

Why not encourage our generations ahead of us to become compassionate people who aren’t afraid of what they might feel, and truly embrace the defining factor of humanity. Emotion.

What is the state of the world today?

We live where the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, we make more but loose more, we’re smarter but we have more unanswered questions, we’re healthier but unhappier, lonelier but isolate ourselves, have compassion but stay selfish, have expansion but keep to ourselves, have so much to offer…but don’t know where to begin.