Eva Šmite

If someone asked me my beauty secrets, which is something people often want to know–I honestly wouldn’t know what to say. Not because I am not looking after my physical body, but because beauty to me goes so much deeper than that, and I doubt it can be enhanced via so called “secrets;” not in any meaningful way anyway. While I am fully aware that this opinion of mine is unpopular–I wholeheartedly believe that true beauty comes from within, and is the result of inner harmony and balance. Yes, of course there are physical/aesthetic attributes to it that indeed can be improved, or even changed dramatically, but to me if something is artificial–it’s not beautiful. Everything is energy, and we cannot fake it, not with makeup, not with filters, not with the latest Kardashian trick of the trade.

There is one sentence that both amuses and confuses me every time I hear it. The amusement part is because I know very well that it is simply not true, and the confusion because it is believed by too many to be dismissed as harmless. You've probably heard it numerous times too: “People don’t change.” Hmmmm, says who? Sometimes I do wonder who comes up with those cliche statements that go on living for decades in people's heads. But it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we blindly accept them as the truth that is influencing our lives for years to come. Isn’t it ironic that the main reasons of our existence—growth, learning, transformation, evolution—are pretty much contradicted in one short sentence? Boom! Just like that, seven billion people are given a diagnosis. And the greatest excuse of all time. To stay small and powerless over their own nature. Because inability to change equals losing in this game of life. Not in the eyes of ego who has all kinds of goals that feel good short-term, I’m talking about the bigger picture here.

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.”Scott Fitzgerald

So it’s that time of the year again. You know the drill—suddenly everyone is feeling inspired to change their life for the better by changing their habits and routines for healthier alternatives. Whether it’s starting to exercise on a regular basis, quitting smoking, going vegan—there isn’t any other time in the year when people are as willing to launch the new version of themselves into existence. Which is great, it really is. The timing also makes perfect sense, the end of one cycle and the beginning of another is the most pronounced just before New Year starts. With so many people focusing on the same thing, the gateway is indeed powerful and the energies support the magic of new beginnings. Even the fact that different calendars and certain countries celebrate New Year at different times doesn’t reduce its impact as most of the world still associates the first of January with a fresh start.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."-Marianne Williamson

I still remember the very first time I saw you. It was only a glimpse, a small part of who you are and yet it was magnificent. I was still a child, seriously perplexed by the complexity of the puzzle in front of me. Yes, you were always a bit of a challenge but very rewarding one. I spent countless hours on that one image of you and the satisfaction I felt once the pieces were all intact—it was enormous. Tower Bridge London in all its beauty stayed in my mind forever since. Yes, the puzzle wasn’t a metaphor I used—I believe it’s called jigsaw in this country. They come in many different levels of complexity and the one of you was a very complicated one for me at the time. Yet it was worth it. What is a perfect metaphor though is the fact that we always had to work on it, however it never felt like work to me. If I only saw a picture of you in the magazine, chances are I would forget all about you the next day. It’s only after playing with hundreds of pieces of your image in a very focused way, did I learn to appreciate you long before I met you.