• Health,  Inspiration

    Documentaries I Loved Watching

    During the recent couple of months I have watched quite a few documentaries that were all worth watching. I have listed them all so anyone who is interested in learning more about the world we live in, is able to just pick one from this list. I only try to watch films or documentaries that are teaching me something new, or makes me think and reflect. From time to time I still watch commercial films or series only for entertainment, but mostly I enjoy getting some sort of intellectual satisfaction from what I’ve watched. Whether it may be an art film that is based off a true story or if it’s a documentary teaching us about our society. So without further ado, here is my list of nineĀ documentaries all worth watching. I have graded them with stars for you to easier see which ones I recommend the most.

    1. True Cost *****
    2. GMO OMG ***/****
    3. Food Matters *****
    4. Cowspiracy *****
    5. Forks over Knives *****
    6. Living on One Dollar *****
    7. Blood brother *****
    8. Fat, Sick and nearly Dead ****
    9. Supersize me ****

     

    Some comments for each item in the list:

    1. A must-watch for anyone interested in what goes on behind the fast fashion market; everything from the textile workers to the production of the textile material that is used in the textile industry. It’s harsh, raw and very true – just watch it. You might never want to support all the big fast fashion brands just after watching this. Check out Fashion Revolution online in case you’re more interested after seeing this.
    2. I couldn’t totally decide whether to give this a full 4 star because of the first half of the documentary. I thought the guy who is making this documentary seemed to be against GMO just because he felt like it, and that he THOUGHT it was bad for you. It annoyed me that he based the first half of the documentary only on emotions of himself and his children. Why does his children have to be involved? If you still get passed that mark and continue watching, it gets more interesting and more data is brought up to surface.
    3. Despite being a few years old, this documentary was totally amazing. I sat glued in front of the television/Netflix and my wish is for everyone to watch this. Totally worth it if you’re interested in what you put into your body.
    4. Produced by Leonardo Di Caprio. Need I say more šŸ˜‰ On a more serious note, it’s about how our diet choices are affecting the environment and the animals and people living on our planet. It’s one of the best documentaries to watch before making any lifestyle changes in terms of diet.
    5. The same as above, minus Di Caprio. I truly recommend watching these two if you need to choose two that has to do with diet and healthy living.
    6. Wow, this documentary made me shed many many, oh so many, tears. It was such a heartbreaking story. I love that the guys chosing to make this film made it as their university project and went to South America to actually live the reality instead of just writing about living on one dollar a day. Truly inspiring.
    7. If no 6 makes you cry, not sure what this one does to me. Maybe it’s because it’s close to my heart, since it has to do with India. A guy from the US travels to India to help children that have HIV/AIDS. His dedication, his interest, love and compassion is just so contagious and it’s beautiful to watch. So beautiful that you will shed some tears here as well. One of my favourites…
    8. I think it’s a great healthy living and food related documentary. It might not be super relevant for me since it deals with a lot of overweight issues and how to overcome those by going on a Juice diet for a while and then going over to a plant based diet. I found it inspiring despite not struggling with those issues, it’s still a very motivational and powerful documentary. Seeing their journey is sometimes enough to feel inspired.
    9. It’s a little old, it dates 10-12 years back and when McDonalds had Supersize menus in the US. I believe they have removed those options now (perhaps after this documentary was made). It’s about a guy eating only McDonald’s food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 30 days. He cannot walk more than 5000 steps a day, since that’s what the average American walks every day – that is not a lot of steps. It’s recommended that everyone at least walks 10K a day, and is active for around 30 min a day. Worth watching, but it will disgust you from ever entering a fast food chain ever again. I have made my promise, not eating McDonald’s after seeing that show. Neither will my future kids.

     

    Peace and Love,
    signature.png

  • Business,  Dreams,  Inspiration

    Starting an Online Jewelry Boutique!

    I am finally announcing what my side-project is all about! I have for a while now been thinking of starting my own business, within something I’m passionate about. Too much time has passed since it was all thoughts and ideas, and I thought to myself that it’s time to not look back and just take action. I have been researching into all kinds of related subjects since this is a huge topic which mostly is pretty new to me. I’ve chosen anĀ e-commerce platform to use and I chose Shopify. It seems pretty easy and scalable if and when the business becomes larger and you have a lot of products listed. I’m already super excited to get my e-boutique launched and be able to share it with all of you.

    You might wonder what my shop is going to be selling. šŸ™‚
    I’ll be selecting unique and special pieces of jewelry (silver and other materials) and accessories from India, Thailand and South Asia, with an oriental and special design that I find too little of here in Sweden or in the West generally. Of course I will also buy in all kinds of popular trendy jewellery that can be used for an everyday look. I will begin with the Nordic region, and quite soon expand to ship to the whole Europe, and when I’m more stable I’ll include the whole wide world; so everyone can enjoy a piece of the East in the West.
    I’m also looking into specializing in more cool Indian accessories that I can easily get hold of when I travel to India next time. More focus on quality material that is specific to India and that region, which is great for scarfs, clothes and accessories.

    The second aspect, and the key to my business is that portions of the sales will be donated to charity organisations I’ve chosen to work with. One of my greatest wishes for the world is for it to be less poverty, and I can only do so much on my own with my contributions to try to work towards changing the world. Therefore I would like to ask for your help to help the world, to give back to the society and to help people in need. The smallest gesture can help, buying a piece of jewellery from my shopĀ will contribute to charity organisation working specifically with women and helping them getting a solid income so they can provide for their family and themselves; thus becoming more independent.

    UPDATE in AugĀ -16: Due to some delays in some tasks the launch of the online jewellery shop will be planned for to the end of this year (2016). I will be sharing more details regarding the business as I get closer to launch date. Stay tuned!

     

    Peace and Love,
    Kimmi

  • travel

    Sad reality

    So much sadness overwhelms me when I close my eyes and think about poverty in the world. It’s so unfair, this world. What is karma, really? I can’t believe that everyone deserves what they’re given, if what is given is nothing. Nothing to work themselves up from. I’ve seen a lot while travelling, and it’s just made me more humble and wanting to help people in need more than before. I just don’t know what to do, what can little I do? Charity? Volunteer? Not sure if volunteering here is going to help against poverty by being here in Sweden. I like my home, and I like where I am, but I can’t just sit and watch.
    Been surfing around for charity organisations from Sweden and they all have this message they want to reach out with, which I’m not sure what to think of, since I think it affects you emotionally so much that you want to give more than you can afford if you’re anything like me. “How many children do you want to help off the streets?” That question… insane to even ask. How many?!
    Well, anyway enough of me babbling about this, it’s not going to help by me feeling sad about it. It’s just reality…

  • Uncategorised

    Towards Jaipur by car

    Sitting and listening to my ipod while everyone else are sleeping in the car. While we visited a fort on the way to Jaipur the guide told us that it was 48 degrees. I can’t believe how people can live in this type of sauna heat.
    While we travel by car sometimes I see beggars on the roads when in small towns we pass. I can’t help but to feel that I want to save them all from this. But of course I can’t. I feel sad that so large part of my home country lives in poverty. Just because the higher class has it good it seems like they neglect the less fortunate. It’s the higher classes that are able to enjoy themselves in this country. Because it takes a lot to get good standard on things around here.
    We’re living in four to five star hotels here. So far tried two in Delhi and Agra. It’s very clean and properly maintained. They provide excellent service at these hotels. In Agra we stayed in a more traditional hotel (Grand Imperial) but it was the nicest so far. There was a beautiful swimming pool there that would have been so nice to try out in this heat but I forgot my bikini back home in Sweden. Not the easiest thing to find stuff to buy the first days here.
    We walked around in Delhi a bit the first day and I felt that the traffic is so crazy and chaotic. Very hard to pass a street if there are places without traffic lights, I ran to avoid being hit by something. I got a bit panicked there for a few, but people seem to be able to get around here without problem so I guess it has to do with practice.
    In some ways I blend in the crowd but most of the times people stare at me here because they can probably tell the difference. Especially the guys… No need to get me started on that topic. Needs a totally separate post for that.