We were lucky to catch up with Jasmine Klapia recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jasmine, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
Generosity began after I’ve learned the lesson that my Dad taught me during the childhood.
I will never forget it.
Bellow is the story from God Does Not Lie book.
I remember, when I was writing this, it was very emotional.
I have heard it said that “You don’t know how it feels unless you experience it on your own”. I guess that is so.
When I was young, and I lived with my parents, I especially recall an incident with my dad. My dad was very particular about our family breakfast and wanted everyone at the table at the same time. Each morning, he would bring fresh bread from the bakery, and we would share it with the whole family.
One morning, I noticed that there was no fresh bread on the table. I wasn’t happy about that, and I decided that I was not going to eat. My dad looked at me and said, “There is bread here left from yesterday.” I thought about that for a moment and then said, “Yes, but it’s not fresh”. Then he told me, “Don’t complain. You don’t know how it feels to have no breakfast at all.” I was young and didn’t get it then. I had always had a good life, and I didn’t know how it really felt not to have any “breakfast at all.”
During my childhood I heard my dad reminding us many times of unfortunate children. I didn’t realize at that time the important lesson. After all, I always had everything, I needed because of my parents. As a child I sat many times and listened to my dad’s stories. Then one day I had some questions that I needed answers for. Why do I have to be reminded so often that there are people who don’t have enough food to eat? Why is it my fault because someone doesn’t have food? I really didn’t understand. I thought it was not my problem. I am sorry about what is going on in the world, but it is not my problem. What can I do?
I was thinking since I have nothing to do with it, I don’t have to do anything about it.
My father just shared those stories that should be heard. He, did everything he could to care for his children. He had a difficult childhood himself, but he always gave us a good life. I am more than grateful for everything that both my parents and my family did for me, but I am most thankful for them teaching me how to be a good human being. How to respect others and how to appreciate and value life. Yes, “how” was the biggest lesson in life for me.
For many years after that morning at home I refused to eat breakfast because there was no fresh bread. I really had no idea why I was behaving like that.
Then, one day… my father’s words came back to me. Those words that I really didn’t know what it was like to be hungry. Little did I think at that time that one day I might experience hunger myself.
During my life I have had the opportunity to live in several different countries. On one of these occasions, I found myself in a serious situation. One day I realized that all my money had run out. I had been so busy living life that I had failed to face the fact that there were just not any funds left to continue the life I had been living. I was without a job and there was not a family, friend or relative around to share my circumstances. I knew that I was too proud to ask anyone for help. I was simply on my own.
While being very busy, I completely neglected my health. The only time I would take a break to eat was when I was extremely hungry and just not able to go any more, almost at the point of starving, almost abusing myself. I began to realize just how sad I was. I could not help but see that everything was just not going in the right direction. I became more hopeless each day.
Finally when the hunger was unbearable, I decided to eat. When I opened the refrigerator, there was nothing to prepare a meal with. Then I looked in the freezer and found one small pieces of frozen chicken breast, hardly enough to prepare a complete meal.
It was shocking when I realized how did I allow myself to come to this situation. I had been so preoccupied with the circumstances that I have forgotten to even consider going to the market to buy groceries. Then the thought hit me; go to the market with what?? I had no money to purchase food with.
It was frightening, and the wakeup call. Up to this point, I applied for work at many places but had not received any replies. While being in complete denial I thought that perhaps the purpose of this experience is to grow.
Back to the chicken breast…
I decided to prepare that chicken breast. But then there was not any onion, garlic, carrots, lemon or spices. just nothing to put on it. There was only water and salt and nothing else.
I could write about that day a lot more how I felt, but one thought kept me going; I need to be emotionally strong.
While preparing the meal I will never forget, I was crying and feeling devastated. Asking the same question over and over again, what happened to me?
Then, suddenly chicken breast ended up on the floor. The only hope of having a meal is now on the kitchen floor. My hands and whole body were shaking uncontrollably. I wondered why I am shaking so. As I thought about the total situation, I became aware of just how hungry that I was. I have not been eating properly for some time now. My body had just not received the right nutrition to function properly. That’s why I am shaking so.
Recalling those situations, I am not sure of all that happened, but I do know that I was able to survive. I also can remember stooping down to pick up that chicken breast from the floor and while doing that I said, Dear God, I get it! Now I know how it feels to be truly hungry. I know because I have experienced it. At that time, it seemed that every door was closed.
Then I made a decision: if I survive and if I am ever able to do something for at least one person’s hunger in this whole world, I promise I will do what I can. I don’t know what I am going to be able to do, but I will do what I can…
‘We can’t do what we cannot. We can only do what we can.’
Ever since I put myself in everyone’s shoes and ask myself how I could help?!
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My focus has always been on inspiring the world to look at life from a different perspective. There is not just one way of seeing things, there are many. I use art and creative work in doing so. Everything I create, whether it is an art, or a story, or a product, has a meaning behind it. When time is difficult for any of us, my goal is to empower people and remind them that life is just a journey. That everything we go through is an experience and lessons to be learned.
Our planet is a beautiful place “designed” for our stories to be lived and told from generation to generation. How we see life has a lot to do with everything around us, since everything is connected. Especially with the mind. The way we think, we feel. The way we feel, we treat ourselves and others based on that. That’s why it’s very important to feel free to express our emotions through a simple conversation, through a therapy, or through art. For many people their profession is their outlet, for others their hobbies, for some it’s the nature, music, cars, boats, dance, photography, different crafts, travel etc. For me it’s ‘Innovative Design’. My creative work allows me to express how I see things and life in general. Right now, I am launching three lines of cosmetics in color.
1. Respectfully Sexy® Black and White Lipsticks speak about simplicity through different concepts. Red is not just a red color. There are many ways of seeing one color. There six different shades of red. One of them in particular which is coral color is my favorite because my mother used to wear it. It suits a lot of women. Lipsticks are very powerful. There is another story about that.
2. Respectfully Sexy® Pure White cosmetics in color speaks about healing and purity. Each one of us, no matter what we have been through in life, deserves to heal and be happy.
3. JK Skin Fashion™ is a line very dear to me as it speaks about human complexion. When I began my art and writing in 2000, I noticed while painting people that everyone was unique. If I tried to create the same person twice, I couldn’t. I noticed that each figure has its personality, not just a figure. I realized that this is how we have been created, distinctively. Our appearance and personality make us who we are. To me, that was an amazing discovery. And if this is how we have been created, why some of us are unhappy with our looks, or happy with the looks but unhappy with our lives?! My answer to that is because of our experiences. We should embrace our appearance and love ourselves the way we are. Everything else is just a story. And the story can always be changed. While painting people, I found out that for these characters not to be all the same, maybe I should add different tones to their skins so they can look unique. Why JK Skin Fashion™? Because then I came up with the concept of that we all should feel comfortable in our own skin through what we wear and how we look. That’s why I use human complexion for this line of goods. Also at that time I was working on a script with one of the film directors in Hollywood where the story was about two different people finding themselves on the same conscious level. The story is not completed, but I am still working on it. I am sure you would be thrilled to hear about it. Discovery after discovery. In the story I have many different characters that made this story very unique.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The Hole In The Sky (Who Are We?) book starts with my first three paintings stories: Patience, Believe, and Action!
These are life lessons that motivated me to pursue my goals.
I have been “patient” since the year 2000 when the creative journey began. You can just imagine how much frustration, madness, sadness, impatience I have been through, thinking that my dreams should come true right away. What is patience? I was asking myself every day. When is the end of a struggle?
In time, I have learned that patience means accepting the moment. There is so much strength in that. It’s a learning process. Learning about yourself, about the business, about the people you are dealing with, about the purpose and the timeline.
Believe. No matter what anyone tells you, you yourself are responsible for your own path. Only you know your vision. Sometimes you have to follow the rules, other times you should create your own.
Action! Obviously, you must take actions to accomplish your goals. The right actions and going in the right direction. You can’t build your dream with those who have a different point of view (or intentions) than yours.
There is a difference between a wish and a goal.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
We are always looking for likeminded people, creative, positive, entrepreneurial, sales associates, social media influencers, marketing managers, manufactures. I never know whom I’d like to work with it until I get to know them. For me the most important value is human value. It doesn’t matter what you know and who you are. What I am looking for is kindness, integrity, compassion, caring individuals because this is who we are. We are also interested in collaborating with those in motion picture industry. Even through the story is not completed yet, I’ve been wiring this story since 2006. My team and I are happy to further discuss it with the right people.
If this sounds like you, you are welcome to explore different opportunities. Please share your vision with us, your talents, your point of view. I am sure we will find a task for you to do and join our team.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jasmineklapia.com/about
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasmineklapia/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasmine.klapia.7/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-klapia-40a0a17a
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeH0pM3MJQLDVM-KsB5l6VA
Image Credits
Jasmine Klapia
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
