040: i saw star wars today. but this is not about star wars. this is about john. it's a weird experience to see someone who looks like one of the guys from the endz staring as a lead role in one of the biggest films in cinema history. this kid is from peckham, but he is holding a lightsaber!? now, a 'new normal' has been established for us london youths. 

it's important to push the boundaries. not just for yourself, but to show those around you what's possible. large up john boyega, you've given us an insight into what can be achieved.

Andre Anderson - Freedom & Balance

039: don't do big things. do small things. small things, done everyday, turn to big things. don't focus on getting to 100. focus on getting from 6 to 7. 7 to 8. be incremental. be small. it will all add up. one plus one equals two.

Andre Anderson - Freedom & Balance

038: like your fingerprint, i believe your soul is a one-off. you, and how you see the world can never be reduplicated. so being original should never be a struggle, as long as you are speaking from your heart. an original soul produces nothing but originality. doing what's 'popular' is what we resort to when we forget we have souls. be sincere.

Andre Anderson - Freedom & Balance

037: the root meaning of the word 'sincere' is 'without wax'. 'sin' means without. 'cere' means wax. the story behind that etymology goes like this...

imagine you approach a sculptor to get a statue made of yourself. whilst the sculptor is working, they make a mistake and chip off a part of your nose. now, this statue is made of marble, which is expensive. they can't make your nose smaller. it would change the look of the whole face. so what they do is get wax (which looks like marble) and mix it in where your nose was chipped off.

you wouldn't notice the difference until you take it to the garden and the sun melts the nose off your statue's face. you would then go back to the sculptor in a rage, asking them to make another one. one that is sin-cere. one that is 'without wax'.

our lives are works of art. let's make them in sincerity. without pretence. without wax.

Andre Anderson - Freedom & Balance

036: when drama was just starting out as an art form, there was a special name for the performers on the stage. they were known 'the hypocrites'. nowadays we would call them actors.

we deem being hypocritical as saying one thing and doing another, but the word actually means 'to act'. to be something you are not. or rather, to put on a mask to hide your true identity.

it's unhealthy to live a life of pretence. it goes against your design. you were made to be you and nobody else. stop the hypocrisy.

Andre Anderson - Freedom & Balance

035: humility is not a popular word in our culture. the etymology of 'humility' has the same origin as the word 'human'/ 'humus'. it basically means 'remember you are a person of the soil'. humility is not about playing down anything great you've done. in a time where everyone seeks stardom, humility reminds us that no matter how great our achievements are, we are still supposed to stay close to the ground. some see this as a weakness. but i see humility as one of the greatest strengths someone can have. 

humility before honour.

Andre Anderson - Freedom & Balance

034: human. the etymology (root meaning) of the word human means 'dirt person'. the hu (in hu-man) comes from the word 'humus' which means earth/ground/soil. we are souls in earth bodies. when our time is up our bodies go back to the soil. our souls go elsewhere.

Andre Anderson - Freedom & Balance

033: i am not my skin colour. i am not my age. i am not my gender. i am not my talents. i am not my bank balance. i am not my career. i am not my place of residence. i am not what people say about me. i am a soul. that's first and foremost. everything else is the free toy that comes with the meal.

Andre Anderson - Freedom & Balance

032: we share the same mother. grew up in the same flat. fourteen years apart. you was the man of the house.

you gave me a fourteen year head start in life. showed me what's cool and what's not. you showed me the movies i should watch and the music i should listen to. you taught me how to dance to the beat of my own drum. there were no fathers under our roof, so you taught what you could. you filled in the blanks.

i don't say this often, but after seeing how you take care of chloe and renèe, you're probably one of the best fathers i know. not only to them, but you have been a role model to me too. 
probably one of the realist things i ever wrote.

happy birthday elliott anderson, my big brother.

[written 8th december 2015]

Andre Anderson - Freedom & Balance

031: beforehand, all i really wanted to do was write books about living life. now all i want to do is live a life people would want to write books about.

Andre Anderson - Freedom & Balance