Color your thoughts

While I was looking for something interesting to write about, I found an article saying that our thoughts have colors. Since it seemed to be some interesting knowledge, I thought to share it with you.

Surprisingly, there are three types of thoughts just like the signal lights, that is to say, basically, our thoughts are either green, yellow, or red. let's take time to observe which color you are in.

Green thoughts

Just like the "go" signal, green thoughts radiate positive energy. They encourage us to move on and take risks to try new things. When your thoughts are green, you are more comfortable with yourself. Moreover, green thinkers are great achievers. They have a clear vision and enough determination to achieve their goal in life. Green is the color of our "heart Chakra" and thus, these thoughts allow us to think by heart.

Red thoughts

Angry, impatient, and terrifying thoughts are red. They keep you stuck in one particular situation and hold a gloomy perspective. Red thinkers are anxious and can 'create' obstacles even in a clear path with unnecessary worries. The lack of confidence caused by red alerts makes you a self-oriented person where survival instincts dominate. Red is the color of our "base or root chakra" and is predominantly fear-based.

Yellow thoughts

Yellow thoughts are neutral thoughts. These are a mixture of green and red thoughts and without being excessive. They allow us to feel peaceful or meditate without any green or red alerts. These are known as 'observer thoughts' since they allow us to evaluate red and green in the chatter in our heads. It makes you confident and more equipped to notice the situation running in your head.

Let's take a minute to decide the color in your thoughts. Then you can take charge and decide the color mixture of your own life. Begin to practice these steps to take charge of your inner coloring.

• start to notice the color of your thoughts
• be aware at any given moment of which colors you are creating 
• practice changing the lens- move from red to yellow, then yellow to green

https://innernorth.com/the-color-of-your-thoughts

Be you, yourself.

 

Be yourself regardless of what people think or talk about you. 

Most of the people in the world maintain a public and a private life. They act one way in private life and another way in public, because they feel like they can not be truly themselves without being judged. At least once in a lifetime there can be a moment where one feel uncomfortable with the false habits that they are following in front of others. You could be a different person to different people. Talented to another. Failure to one. Flawless to your lover. Stranger to someone. Quiet to one. Best to your friend. Worst to your enemy. Smart to one. Daring to another. Difficult to a lot. Unknown to the rest. It might be difficult to show your true self to others, yet being yourself is more important, as peace of mind and personal tranquility are the only factors which keep ones eternal happiness. Thus the question arises how a person can achieve a peaceful mind at the end of life, if the whole life is acted according to someone else's wishes and needs? Therefore, despite satisfying others, satisfy your own self and enjoy every little moment which makes you happy. Be you, yourself.

DEFORESTATION

Environmental pollution causes for many negative results, such as climate change and number of diseases. This picture is an indication of man's riskful life resulting by deforestation. The foreground shows people face a struggle to have enough oxygen from artificial oxygen tanks. It is mainly because, they have destroyed natural resources which provide natural oxygen for breathing. The foreground, the buildings of this picture highlights natural environment has changed into an urban area.  Hence, urbanisation can be seen as one of the major purposes of deforestation. In other hand, the tablet on man's hand points out technological development of man instead of morality as man doesn't love to environment and their major focus is on outward values. The mostly used color here is Ash. Using of this color can be seen as an attempt to indicate disappointment, negativity and futility of man's life. It is because usually Ash symbolizes pessimistic feelings. However, this picture specifies or warns about hardships people encounter in future dueto deforestation. 
 

Feminism Vs Equality

 

The concept of Feminism being the advocacy of women's rights and the belief that both sexes, men and women must be given equal treatment and the unbothered access to rights. Thus, this being  centered on women as a majority, the evolved concept of Equality is more regarded in the modern world, that being every person should be treated with equality despite gender, race or color. The concept of equality stands for itself being the goal that everyone ultimately desires, which is equality and tranquility of the modern world.

 

The patriarchal society that has been existing since the ancient times, has always cornered women and children and the rising evolution of women with the industrialization and modernization, men are not the only bread winners of a family, and thus, women also being independent have the right to ask for equal treatment and equal access to right as men. Women being women and belonging to one gender as a whole, have created and developed many activist and Feminist  societies/ institutions that support feminism and promote the concept of feminism worldwide. In the west, this has been successful now, this being the 21st century of modernization. In the east though, especially in countries like India, women are not at least given the basic right of education much less they are not given the right of free will. Thus, Feminists and the concept of Feminism worldwide is narrowed down to women and paving the way for women to get access to equal rights despite gender differences.

 

Equality goes beyond feminism and encapusules and covers a much broader area, being the expressive state and measure of treatments towards people on a whole, regardless of gender, color or race. On simple terms, it is equal treatment to all as human beings who are equally privilaged to assess human rights. This is not narrowed down to one sector, and any kind of discrimination, be it discrimination against women, race or color falls under this one concept of equality. The recent acts against the black people in USA and the movement " Black lives Matter" and that being changed into " All lives matter" is a perfect example of what equality stands for. The ideology and vision of Equality worldwide is to bring equal rights to every human, without discrimination or uniformed treatments to any party.

 

As the world is constantly changing and the new technology having unlimited access to the people's lives, discrimination as well as support is spread internationally within a snap. The discrimination of the black society as well as the ongoing discriminatory act known as "Asian hate" is wide spread with the use of the internet creating a despise among people. Also the access to international acts of discriminations are also easily accessed by the activist parties, be it feminist or equality, they are able to gather information and provide justice.

 

These concepts have a noticeable amount of power to create an impact to a situation where injustice is prominent but the importance of equality is more widespread and needed than feminism which is narrowed down to one sector. The discrimination or abuse is not focused on one gender, that being women but the abuses, hate and discriminations are more  concerned with races as well as the queer societies now than women as a secluded segment. However, both the concepts are focused on equal treatment and creating world peace and making the world a better, fair and a place of justice where everyone can live with comfort despite individualistic differences.

🆆🅷🆈 🅳🅾🅴🆂 🆈🅾🆄🆃🅷 🅰🅲🆃🅸🆅🅸🆂🅼 🅼🅰🆃🆃🅴🆁?

 

In the 21st century, it is important to support youth in bringing attention to environmental and political disasters but teen-led activist voices have been a major threat to their lives.

Youth activism is an action that is spread all over the world and the United Nations states that today’s youth have inherited a planet ravaged by climate change and other disasters. As they look toward their future, they’re more motivated to be environmentally active than older generations — and they have more tools than ever before with which to make their voices heard through youth activism. Not only environmentally, but also politically youth activism is visible.

Young people from the Philippines, Kenya and Brazil tell `Climate Home News` why they took part in a global climate demonstration. Also, if some of the recent incidents are taken into consideration, youth activists of Myanmar are on the streets demanding for democracy to take back their country and very recently in Nigeria during the SARS protest. 

Not only that, we all noticed how Bhagya Abeyrathna exposed Sinharaja destruction in Sri Lanka. 

Although young people voice out their opinions for the betterment of their country or for the betterment of the world, there are instances where their lives are being threatened. Even Bhgya Senaratne had to face Police interrogation. Further, there are situations where the youth activists are murdered secretly.

According to United Nations Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake, "young people are incredibly resilient. Even Though they are one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to these economic and political and environmental shocks, they also hold those answers. Also, they have the fantastic ability to reach across the divide and build coalitions in order to drive towards a common goal, which is often time holding the leaders``, but, upper hands those who think that youth voices are burdens, they try to remove those resistors.

__As a responsible community,  can you all ignore the voices of youth?__👀 

Babies👼🏻

"A baby is as pure as an angel and as fesh as a blooming flower" - Debasish Mridha

Babies are the purest beings in the world. They are genuine. Their feelings are original. They are fresh as flowers. Actually according to me babies are like freshly bloomed roses. They are not corrupted by the society. They are just innocent human beings who genuinely smile at us. Babies are super healers because their genuineness and pure smile can heal a heart in so many ways. Though they cannot speak well their eyes and smiling lips are more honest and original than adults. Adults are the corrupted version of babies. With the time babies become adults gradually killing the innocent and genuine beings within them. My question is why we cannot take that genuine baby with us as we grow old ? Is that because of the society ? We live in a world someone else imagined and we understand it when we become older. Babies are not like that. They live in their own fresh worlds and they are full of positive thoughts. As adults why we cannot build that fresh world ? Why we cannot be more honest and genuine as babies ?  Adults are the unluckiest beings and babies are the most luckiest in the world. Why we cannot continue our good luck as we grow up ? Where's the fault ? Babies are the creatures that evolved enough to convey pure love and they are hopeful unlike adults. We think adults are the teachers of babies but I don't agree with that because babies are the teachers of adults. Babies are more powerful than adults. Babies can clean and wash brains of adults but most of the adults don't know it. According to my view society will be more beautiful if we are able to carry our baby mind forever with us.

Youtubers In Sri Lanka

You tube is an open platform to present skills, market your products, educate people with knowledge and give messages etc. Who are these YouTubers and do we need them? Why they are important?

 Most recently this 'Youtuber' concept became viral in Sri Lanka. When comparing to Sri Lanka there are  various types of Sri Lankan YouTubers. For example there are technological experts, travel vloggers, social reviewers , artists , gaming experts & content creators including comedy artists. 

As YouTube is also a social media in present it became one of the fastest network where audience can find facts in both audio and visual mode. 

But who are these people called "YouTubers" simply they are the people who uploads videos to YouTube. According to Sri Lankan context most of the  YouTube channels  and YouTubers are trash because of the competition for viewers and subscribers. There are unwritten but famous  ways to become popular in YouTube industry - that are share gossips about some celebrity or public figure including their private life, market poor people, double meaning talks, naked/half naked videos etc.

But luckily in Sri Lanka there are so many influential YouTubers who share technological facts, motivational thoughts, beauty hacks, social reviews and even humor.    

But why these people important. This can be addressed by several point of views. As most of YouTubers are engaging in a rat race to gain viewers, subscribers they try to publish any sort of a video though it isn't useful or authentic. YouTuber can build a character as well as kill a character. The best example is the famous Sri Lankan YouTubers Wasthi Production' in their early stage without sophisticated technological sources they brought out real humor but comparing to now they they include so many thing by spending much money they lacks the quality of the videos and decency with zero creativity. But as soon as they upload a video millions of subscribers watch it comment on it saying it's bad. But it doesn't matter for them they build a brand they need viewers to get advertisements. This is not only for them most of Sri Lankan YouTubers are same. As they wanted to reach in trending list just upload some facts on burning social issue without having proper knowledge. because that a wrong message can be spread through out the world. And most commonly Sri Lankan YouTubers tend to market poor innocent people's life stories to gain viewers. 

As this is an open space the audience should use the platform by being intelligent because as mentioned both good and bad exist. The viewers can subscribe what needed and not to give popularity to useless channels and embrace the quality stuff, but the trash also needed to clarify and understand what is good.                                    

 

 

Depression Speaks

Fountain of tears,

overflowing through the little sapphires

Failing to find the single joy of the existence

 goes after a sweet unreachable fantasy 

Knowing that it flatters oneself 

Falls into the state where "I" is the only companion 

Yet within a second finding myself hating "me" 

With that fading voice of my heart 

The lonely cloud who listened aboard 

Goes further away and away... 

When the night passes the cold wet breeze washes hopes and dreams away, 

Me, with the meme neutral sapphires stares through "future's window" 

It's myself that wounded 

No more a reason be shaded

Tiring to run all the distance 

Begged "me", relax an instance 

Invain no more commas given,

Hugging my heart that forgiven 

Looking far away places,

The little innocence vanishes.

(Kasuni Geethandi,- 2019) 

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.

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Does it need a reason  for you to cry? Don't you ever cry and afterwards wonder the reason why you feel sad or depressed? Or you are labeling me, "a psychopath"?

Pure Ceylon Cinnamon - Is it the next export trend?

 

The plant Cinnamomum verum is known as Ceylon Cinnamon or True Cinnamon, the speciality is that this cinnamon plan is only found in Sri Lanka, it is native to the island.  It is a small evergreen tree that belongs to the family of Lauracease, this consists of cinnamon from C. verum which is considered by worldwide culinarians to be of superior quality and standard and that is why many people prefer Ceylon Cinnamon over other types of cinnamon found in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and China.

The Ceylon Cinnamon plant or the Cinnamomum verum is a small tree that is green – brown in color consisting of leaves and fruits. It is only about 10 – 15 meters long and it has leaves that are ovate – oblong which on simple terms mean oval and long in shape. This plant will bear a flower which gives out a distinct odor and greenish in color, a fruit which is purple and it contains a single seed which is responsible on how these plants are cultivated. The bark of Cinnamon plants are mostly used to make the spices of Cinnamon. As this plant is very rare and only found in the grounds of Sri Lanka, it is given the name “ Ceylon Cinnamon” derived from the earlier name Ceylon, of the country.

The special interest that people worldwide show towards Ceylon Cinnamon has eventually enhanced and improved the commercialization and trading of the plant from Sri Lanka to the world, the distinctive taste and the health benefits of cinnamon continues to draw more people towards Ceylon cinnamon which is why it has become a bulk scale manufacturing and exportation source for the country. The plants are cultivated on lands on a large scale and then goes through a process of production to become the spice that everybody loves.

Cinnamon trees tend to grow as very leafy bushes which are about 10 feet tall (3 meters) in height when they are cross cultivated for the purpose of production. The trees are capable to be harvested for the first time once they are 3 years of age, and they continue to give the sources for production of spices for a period of over 50 years. A single plant will give multiple harvests in its life time. Almost all the parts of the Cinnamon tree are taken use in production. The branches are removed from the tree to access the bark, and the outer park is taken off and made into a mulch. The twigs, leaves and seeds known as berries are crushed to make cinnamon oil, a byproduct of cinnamon. The inner branch which is most valuable is loosened, split and peeled off to produce spices. The long and full straps of these known as ‘Quills’ of cinnamon are more valuable than the small broken pieces. The value is marked by the interest that people show and the worth that they put on the product initially and the labor that is used in the process of manufacturing. These Cinnamon Quills are then dried over for several days, in the sun, in the shade and then in darkness and all the work is done by human labor who are experienced and specialized in the field. That is one reason why Ceylon cinnamon is expensive. As the final step of production, the dried Cinnamon bark is cut into either sticks or grounded into powder and packed to be sold to consumers.

The health benefits and the taste of Ceylon cinnamon is preferred by consumers worldwide which has made the production of spices through cinnamon has become a large scale manufacturing and exportation product in Sri Lanka that provides a profitable income to the country as well.

Watch it again! Read it again! It’s a stab that goes through a sensitive heart…

Now this is an image which can make a sensitive heart crying just from a second. I was met up with this photo accidently in an old magazine that I found. The image suddenly caught my attention- by drowning me into curiosity as a man covers a head, and a child sleeps on his lap. So as I explored more, undoubtedly this left my heart broken from an instance and then I realized I’ve tears in my eyes when I was watching the image by knowing the story. This image and the story behind it is worth sharing……
So now, The four year old child recognizes his father only from his voice. The most heart breaking part of the moment is, this little child falls asleep on his father’s warmth for three minutes from the allowed five minutes. Under the heating sun on a sandy dessert this infant sleeps sound on his father’s lap. At the moment suddenly the lenses of Jane Mark captures this scenario. This incident was recognized as a most emotional scene not only by the American forces but also throughout the world. The child who was sleeping the last sleep on his father’s affection and warmth, even during the 20 minutes of extra time given, was jerked on the last minute and bids farewell to his father forever. After that Jane Mark was unable to see either this father or son.
“I saw that humanity…. Even I have a daughter from the same age in my county. I did not see a terrorist… I saw a father. I captured the paternal love. But that was not one of the best incidents in the world. It was an incident one must not see, a father must not go through and a child must never experience” says Jane Mark with the capture he shot. Amidst all the 63,000 photographs from various 4330 photographers out of 124 countries across the world this photograph from Jane Mark –‘the end of a paternal love’ was selected as the best shot and awarded the Pulitzer award.

This photo is getting captured by the French photographer, Jane Mark, on the 13th of March 2003, in an American army base.

Amidst an adverse condition that occurred in between Iranians and American soldiers this father is getting arrested and sentenced to death and as the last desire of this father, he gets the chance to see his son just for five minutes. But this innocent little child was not able to see his father’s face as according to the law a terrorist who is sentenced to death is not allowed to uncover his face. So as this father requests for permission to go to his son an hour before he breathes his last breath, was granted permission in an open land.

Made in SRI LANKA...

 

As a result of foreign invasion to our country, we were accustomed to most western habits and customs. At the same time, white people stole our precious resources and persuade our people to follow the western culture. Then, the prosperity of our small island gradually faded away as they had taken many of the precious and natural resources to their countries. The arrival of western culture to our country leads our people to wear trouser and shirt instead of our national dress as well as to degrade our own products as they were accustomed to appreciate western products.

So, nowadays whenever people see the phrase “Made in Sri Lanka”, they used to ignore those products and select products which were imported to our country especially from countries like China, Japan, Britain etc. Although now we are not under the British rule, our people were accustomed to follow their customs, products and traditions. Actually we have everything to live in our island but unfortunately today they all are exported to various countries and our people have to buy imported products. Also, with this situation whenever new Sri Lankan products were introduced to our market, most of our people avoid to value and appreciate those. Why can’t we value our own products? I think the problem is with the attitude on Sri Lankan products. For an instance, the first ever car which was totally made in Sri Lanka “Vega” is now sold to abroad as our country does not have sufficient promoters and admirers. Also I think that many educated people leave our country because of the same reason. So, today we import many products to our country whereas our products are exported to various countries in the world.

The best thing we can do to prevent this situation is we should value and appreciate our own products and help to promote Sri Lankan products among ourselves by avoiding foreign products. When we develop the attitude on our products we can develop as a country because we can save a great amount of money which were used to import products. Then gradually we can label our country as a developed country as well as to create our own national identity in the world as Sri Lankans. So, let’s try to develop our country by valuing and buying our own products with positive attitude towards Sri Lankan products.

HIGH HEELS, A SYMBOL OF FEMININITY?

 

Most commonly, people consider high heels as a symbol of femininity but it conveys a deep meaning than what we know. To begin with, I would like to let you know that high heels was originally considered to be men’s apparel. I think that now you are curious to know the origin of high heels. 

High heels were first worn in 15^th century by Persian soldiers in order to secure their feet in stirrups. Then, the migrants of Persia brought them to Europe and male aristocrats wore them with the intention of appearing taller and formidable. 

Catherine de Medici was the first woman to wear high heeled shoes and that was in the 16^th century. She wore those as she wanted to appear tall at her wedding. She was 150 cm tall when she wore high- heeled shoes. Until she wore them, high –heeled shoes were men’s apparel.

Louis XIV of France wore high heeled court shoes to appear more powerful and domineering. In the portraits of the king, the shoes were dyed red; expensive pigment to show superior social status. Even, he banned the entering of people to the court without red-soled shoes. Somehow, right to wear high heels was extended to the general population. Pin posters of 1940 s and 1950 s presented that high heels as a symbol of glamour and femininity. Meanwhile,trend came to Hollywood and actresses wore them in films. So, everyday women replicate the look at their homes. With the demand, high heels reached the stores. Today,  they are very common and there are various types of high heels especially wear by women.

High heels, a symbol of femininity,glamour,sexuality and power?

Klages (2006) in her book called, ‘Literary Theory’ stated as follows,

“You might think here about high heels as a signifier: generally, a foot in a high-heeled shoe signifies that there’s a vagina and breasts attached to the wearer, because in our culture high heels are a signifier of femaleness and femininity. But anyone can wear high heels – and will be seen as ‘feminine’ because of it”.

High heels can be worn by any person, may be a woman or  a man. But as soon as you see high heels, you think that always a woman should wear them. Society expects woman to wear high heels. For example, most of the companies make high heels compulsory as the dress code for women. But why? I think it’s a male concept of beauty. Women are motivated to wear them as there is a norm that women in high heels are more attractive and high heels become a representative of sexuality. It is a simple thing in a world with people who judge a person by outward appearance and also there is an opinion that high heels were created to slow down women as most of the designers are males.“Christian Louboutin said that heels slow a woman down, giving the man  more time to look at her”. If you search  Google for business women, you can see that most of them wear high heels. For men, they can walk freely without any difficulties. Even it costs so much that high heels are costly than flat shoes and also most of the women take taxis as it is difficult to walk or use public transport wearing high heels, wasting money. I think clothing should not be restricted to one gender, making it a signifier. There is a Bollywood hit; a song “high heels te nachche” and the actor, Arjun Kapoor dance wearing high heels. I saw at the comment section somebody commented, “It must’ve been so hard for Arjun wearing the high heels” So, if it is hard to wear by men why not by women. Anyone can wear anything if they really like it not because someone forces to wear. https://youtube.com/watch?v=bQtT-Tv_tZ4&feature=share  Here’s link you can watch that three boys dances really beautiful wearing high heels in Britain’s got talent show. They wear them as they love to wear high heels without thinking what people will think of them.

On the other hand, there are some women who like to wear them.  Some women are passionate about wearing them. It’s totally okay that it’s their own preference. They think high heels give more power to them. They feel like professional and more independent.  You can see the women on magazine covers, red carpet, courtrooms, award shows wear high heels. Indeed they add the glamour and many feminists like to wear them. No one should judge anyone through their outward appearance. It’s not the dresses or shoes that decides the character or pave the way for exploits, rapes, oppresses women but the insane minds of people.

At present, many women reduce the use of high heels as they cause health issues. Long term use of high heels can affect the knees, hips, lower back and Achilles tendon because high heels change the users walking patter. Many women suffer due to pain in hips and lower back. The only way to solve the problem is reducing the use but how can women reduce it if it’s mandatory to wear them for workplace and society expect it from women? Don't think what people will think of you.If you really love and feel comfortable with flat shoes, wear them and if you love to wear high heels if you think it adds glamour, wear high heels but not because society forces to do so. 

what do you think of high heels? Leave a comment sharing your ideas.

Small Great Things - Jodi Picoult ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

 

A legal story focusing on race in America 

"If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way"

-Martin Luther King Jr-  

Small Great Things is a book that weaves around
the life of Ruth; an African American labour
and delivery nurse. She's faced with workplace
discrimination when two white supremacists:
Turk and Brittany Bauer stop her from doing
her job. When their newborn dies within three
days of birth, the grieving parents seek revenge
from Ruth who was with the baby at the time of
death. The parents suing Ruth have much to do
with their own hate and grief rather than any
fault of the nurse. 

The state files a lawsuit charging Ruth of murder
and negligent homicide. A legal case presumes.
Kennedy, a white public defender acts as her
savior figure. Even though the characters are
somewhat stereotypical they allow us to take a
look into the lives of both parties involved in
this matter especially for someone who doesn't
have a first hand experience of racism in
America.

At the trial Ruth was advised not to give
testimony as her case was winning, but
she risked the chance of losing because
ultimately freedom for her was not just staying
out of jail but making her voice heard.
The novel is more than just disheartening cases
of racism; the reader can find a comic relief
in the relationship of Kennedy and her doctor
husband Micah. 

What I personally liked most about Picoult's
writing is that she shows that everyone has a
backstory. Her message is strong when she
implies that everyone behaves the way they do
for a reason. The legal aspect of the book
makes it a thrilling page turner. She also deals
with the issue of how extremists are made of
young minds without a purpose.

However, the book had a rushed ending and
it was also packed with a lot of race related
themes which made the story a bit bleak.
The story shows how both good and bad
have roots most powerful. We are made aware
that emotions like fear, anger, and grief can grow
into indiscriminate prejudice and hatred.
Picoult ultimately shows that redemption is
possible regardless of past mistakes.

MONEY Is Not The Most Important Thing for Success

 

Money is not the most important thing for success

Though MONEY seems to be the No#1 thing to become successful, that’s NOT TRUE. It might convince you for some time but close evaluation indicates something else. Therefore, Money is NOT the most important thing for success. Those who believe that Money is the primary obstacle, give a break. Get out of that illusion. It’s a completely false case against your chance of success.

Yes, it’s absolutely true that Money is one of the important resources among all but it’s not the only reason for not following your dream.

You must have seen or known many who do have enough money to pursue their dreams but they don’t. You must have heard many stories where people got all the resources, including money but they still fail because they could not take it in the right direction. And you also have seen people without any resources get success after success. You must wonder how?

Motivation is more important than Money

When you are motivated, you have the right mindset, you have that drive to follow your dream, create something for yourself that is worth creating, pursue your dream with a vision that when you arrange all the resources, including Money. Now, the scenario is such, you will get all the resources, but what you do not get is MOTIVATION, the DRIVE, the MINDSET. Because all these things are internal, you have to nurture it by yourself and you have to keep it in continuation so that you will be able to achieve whatever you want to achieve.

When you are full of Motivation, you will do whatever it takes to fulfill your dreams. Without that it’s nothing. So do not fool yourself with these excuses. You have much better ways to realize your dreams.

So anything and everything is possible if you set your intention right.

 

                            “They are not selling soap or petrol, but a vision………

                                                      ……….a way of life.”

  

Have you ever wondered about the impact of advertising on your daily life? Advertisements have been constantly bombarding us with messages while making us accept them as a normal part of the reality. Advertising can simply define as the process of building brand awareness about certain products, brands, ideas and services among the consumers. Nowadays this field has become wider with the tremendously competitive economic system. Thus, advertisements are undertaken in various forms such as TV commercials, product placements, billboards, posters and online advertisements. Despite a handful of benefits, advertising is considered to have numerous negative effects on humankind but it has permeated our lives so much to the point that we are not even conscious of it.

         Advertising changes the buying behavior of consumers and contributes to wasteful consumption. It conveys messages of certain products through entertainment. Thus, whatever that is sold is presented in a positive light along with unrealistic expectations. It makes the audience unsatisfied with who they are, and what they have, and it ultimately generates greedy for what they do not have. This background leads the people into a status of identifying themselves with the products they own. Consequently, it directly affects in altering the consumer behavior from desires to needs. Finally advertising which functions as a fountain giving birth to uncontrollable desires wastes our money on stuff that are not really essential for the survival, or in other words, it contributes to wasteful consumption.

              “Advertising; the science of arresting human intelligence long enough to get money from it”

               Moreover, fast food, alcohol and tobacco advertisements can have a long lasting effect on human health. Most of the fast food advertisements promote the misbelief that consuming a specific food or drink makes people happy and success, but being exposed to such advertisements over a long period of time effect peoples’ food preferences and consummation patterns. Eating foods with overdose of fat and sugar give rise to serious health problems like obesity, diabetics, chronic diseases and, cardiovascular disease. With the exceptions of the above fact, advertisements provoking alcohol and tobacco consumption also can have significant repercussions especially on children and teenagers. They often target the vulnerabilities of youth depicting drinkers as laid-back, attractive, successful young people having fun in glamorous social situations, but it ultimately leads to potentially lasting issues like heart disease, lung cancer, kidney failure, and liver damage.

           Sometimes violent and aggressive thoughts are provoked through advertising. Such correlation between media violence and children’s tendencies to fallow them has also proved through numerous researches. Consequently promoting certain products with violent contents makes children likely to engage in aggressive behaviors

       In conclusion, what is understood up to this point is that there is no escape from advertising. Oftentimes we are unconscious about how much we keep on buying things and fallow the contents established through advertisements. You yourself can be the solution for this problem by understanding and helping your kids understand what commercials and advertisings are all about.

 

                                               “Don’t let them fool you”

The Importance of learning foreign languages in today's world!

 In today’s era, multilingualism has become more than just ‘important’. Knowing a foreign language other than your native language has evolved to be extremely beneficial. Whether viewed from the financial or social aspect, being able to communicate in a foreign language helps to make ‘real’ connection with people and provides a better understanding of your language.

Why should you learn a foreign language? Learning a foreign language open up employment opportunities. For businesses, it is essential to develop and sustain a strong footing in the global economy. It is better achievable if they can understand the psychology and the language of their foreign clients. Most companies therefore, look for candidates with foreign language skills. If you are already working, knowing a foreign language may lead to special recognitions or promotions. As an employer, it will help encourage staff performance, improve customer services, and increase revenue for your company.

Apart from the financial gains learning a foreign dialect can offer a unique experience to travellers. People, who love to explore different parts of the world, know about diverse cultures, places, and lifestyle, knowing the local language can offer a life changing experience. You can easily find the places, ask for directions, and even order food. Speaking a language gives you a better understanding of the country’s culture. You can interact with people more freely providing a greater scope of meeting new people, making new friends, more fun, and enjoyment.  

Another reason why you should learn a foreign language is that the knowledge of a foreign language enhances your cognitive and analytical abilities. Learning a foreign language is tough and involves a lot of mental exercise. On the individual level, it improves personality and increases your sense of self-worth. The need of language faculties has increased due to the -growing interest in students to learn foreign languages. People associated with social services need to work with diverse groups from several countries. Ability to speak in a foreign language enables them to communicate and serve people better.

The next important decision is to choose from the number of foreign languages – French, Spanish, German, or Italian- to be learnt. Whether you learn a language for a specific reason or out of interest, learning a foreign language will lead to long-term success. It will open up new avenues before you. The more language you know, the better you can express yourself.

Redefining Femininity and Gender Identity !

 

        Bhoomi Harendran, since the early 2000s, has become an undeniably prominent force towards inclusivity and recognition of the minorities, effortlessly restructuring the ironclad drafts of sexuality and gender identity existing within the country. Bhoomi's story is a vast source of inspiration for many on our island - we may not see them but they survive hidden beneath the threshold of cultural dictum. Despite societies prejudices the fact that you are born in the wrong body doesn't mean you are any less the human being. As Bhoomi rightly states, " You should never compromise your identity to confirm the societal standards and expectations - don't ever lose yourself. "

        The process of gender re-construction is very complicated.  " Before going through the procedure it is mandatory to live the life we want before we transition."  Bhoomi reveals, " If you want to transition into a woman, we have to live the life of a woman and it goes the same if you want to transition into a man." 

        Being an activist,  a media spokesman , a role model and a subcommittee member of human rights, Ms. Bhoomi Harendran works towards the rights of the Sri Lankan transgender community. 

         Thus, she has daringly challenged the traditional notions of femininity, womanhood, identity, and much more. She will continue to inspire countless transgender and queer individuals struggling under an unforgiving society in need of a reformation and acceptance.

 Politics 

Politics is simply the machinery of government within a country, group or an organization. As politics works on a global scale we can identify that based on several aspects. It is not just drew on a government, politicians and political parties.it is a specific set of organized guidelines structured according to the requirements of a countries’ advancement.

Politics does not connected only to those who are in power. It is also connected to their opposite parties, the people around them supporting and those who are trying to gain the same power by coming in to the field of politics are also related to politics. Thus, all these people can be recognized as the elements of politics who have responsibilities in numerous angles on the framework of governing in a country.

Political debates always have many angles. Thus, people must be critical and intelligent at the same time to think and understand the hidden motives of politicians without accepting everything that they are elaborating. Most of the actions in politicians hampers the harmony of the country and degrades the state of politics.

Political field is usually known as a field of corruption. It is mostly because when one party agrees the others disagree with the governing forums. Hence there is always inconsistency within the flow of rules and regulations in every governing context all over the world. In politics nothing happens by chance. Hence, to gain votes, politicians use every arrow in their quiver.  As per the history of politics it is evident that people chase power by losing all their morals and ethical values.

That can be also encountered in the contemporary world in more treacherous aspects. Dirty politics can be seen all over the world in different capacities where politicians tend to live lavish lifestyles using civilians’ money by using their political powers. Those who rule their parties in a hectic manner ignores the development of a nation but only focuses on accumulating power to advance their lives more luxurious .

The need of educated politicians for a country is a necessity in today’s world rather than having uneducated ones as peoples’ representatives who know nothing but to suppress others. As same as politicians people also should have a correct sense of politics to understand the selfish motives of politicians , corruption within the field of politics and the way of living by not being the slaves of politics.

 If you don't fight for your dreams, who will?

Born and bred in the Sri Lankan culture, competitive education is part and parcel in every students’ life. As the saying goes, the frog in the well should come out from the lid of the well itself, every student put their tireless efforts in facing and succeeding the G.C.E examinations to climb up the social ladder. For some, the exams are a challenge, for some it’s a pathway that expose them to new avenues and career opportunities. Nevertheless, my story with facing this challenge was super challenging too. 

After 13 years of schooling, finally, it was the moment that I had to face my A/L examination. I was getting ready to the examination during the last few days with a bag full of expectations and hopes for the future. My parents had toiled immensely day and night to bring me up to the place where I was and to provide me with all the necessities to carry out my academic work. Yet,

it was a matter of time that I was infected with dengue fever just three days before the examination.

I felt as if the world had stopped for a moment and I was speechless when I received the medical reports. Then I was admitted to the hospital. My parents and my teachers were very worried about my condition and they were somehow able to change the examination center for a close by place from the hospital so that I wouldn’t miss the exam and as it was my request to them as well. 

Life had already pinned me down once now. So I thought that even with this pain I will somehow get the exam done while the medical treatments are going on. Unfortunately, I was further doomed and my situation got bad to worse when my blood count dropped down to 23,000 platelets and I got dengue rheumatic  night before the exam. All I could do during the exam commencing day was to lie down almost unconscious in the sick bed and stare at the empty ceiling. For a minute I thought it was all over, I thought  that’s it and it’s time for me to say good bye to everyone and leave this life as my situation wasn’t getting any better but severe. 

The doctors and the nursing staff worked so tirelessly and after few days I started recovering and I was able to be discharged from the hospital. When I got home and thought of the examination, I knew that I had lost the boat. I was clueless not knowing what to do.

I felt as if I was left in the middle of a desert and no beacon of hope to be seen. Few months passed thinking about an uncertain and a desperate future.

My parents and teachers spoke to me after sometime and inquired me if I would try to do the exam again and just try and give it a shot. I knew that I didn’t have the enthusiasm as in the first time and neither did I have a choice. So I started working again and tried to get back on the track. It was extremely hard in the beginning to concentrate and to put my heart and soul into studying. 

Then I thought to myself,

“Life has already flattened me to the utmost ground and stolen away a whole year of my time, I’m not going to be a victim of my own devastated dynasty. I’m going to rise up again and challenge life instead of being in trauma.”

Then I gathered up all my courage and strength in me.  I thought that I have already gone through a hell a lot of suffering and I’m stronger than I think.

If I’m not gonna fight for my success who will? 

After attempting the examination for the first time a year after, I was overwhelmed with joy when I got my results. I had done greatly in the examination and I got selected to the university after all. Turning back at the past, now I feel extremely proud of myself for taking such a brave decision to start again and challenge back life when it tried to desert me in the wilderness of my own negative thoughts. There will always be ups and downs as we go along in life. There will be moments when we feel like giving up everything when problems come into our lives. Yet, that is the very moment we need to stand firm and keep a step forwards gathering all our energy and potentials to face the future.