Find Beauty in the Ordinary

Thank you Justine & Michael 💚

The act of paying attention seems rather simple - simply being aware of life happening all around us. And yet most of us are asleep at the wheel. Our habit is to be lost in a trance. Thinking. Planning. Worrying. So how can we find meaning in our lives when we are repeatedly lost in our own thinking?

A beautiful place to start is to pay attention. To live is to observe. To experience the fullness of life is to put oneself into the fullness of life. To embrace the wholeness of this journey is to lift your head, squint your eyes, wipe your heart of bias, and look. And in the looking, we might be profoundly changed.

Let's not miss a thing. Let's embrace it all - the beauty and the heartache — both of which make us feel alive and allow us to know that we're actively participating in life’s unfolding. Let's all strive to be awake for as much of it as we can.

Featuring Annie Lighthart.
Filmed in Portland, Oregon, USA.

All of our films are made possible through the generous support of our patrons.

Join our YouTube channel to get early access to our films :

Who is Reflections of Life? We are Justine and Michael (previously known as Green Renaissance). We use our passion for filmmaking and our love of storytelling, to remind our audience of one simple truth – that we are all human. The more that we understand and believe in this interconnectedness, the more we will treat ourselves, one another, and planet earth with a greater sense of compassion.

Filming - by Michael Raimondo
Editing - by Justine du Toit
Sound mix - by Tamryn Breakey

The following music tracks are used in this film, all sourced from Epidemic Sound:
Calme - by Ever So Blue
Cute Dreams - by Gabriel Lucas
Origin - by Harbours and Oceans
A Second Chance - by Silver Maple
Tendencies - by Hanna Lindgren
Haven - by Aerian
Goya - by Aerian

A huge thank you to these guys, who gave so generously of their to time to help with translations, enabling us to provide subtitles in the following languages:
Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) - by Shun-Ying Lu
Czech - by Katarína Božek
Dutch - by Karla Greven
English - by Justine du Toit
French - by Amélie Macoin
German - by Tanja Pütz
Greek - by Vicky Polychroni
Indonesian - by Ary Nuansa
Italian - by Grazia Gironella
Kazakh - by Mereinur Tabuldin
Korean - by Hotae Devin Noh
Polish - by Anna Konieczna
Portuguese - by Sibylle Steinpass and Lucivani Valvassori
Slovak - by Zuzana Beratsova
Slovenian - by Tadej Pasar
Spanish - by Paty Aguirre
Vietnamese - by Thi Le

[brightpurpleviking]

I love this ❤ my mother has said many times that my life was wasted because I never become something of importance. But I adopted two babies, raised them into beautiful adults, helped those who mourn and still do, and today I watch my grandchild full time. But I can’t look at myself in the mirror without disgust at my failings. It’s amazing, this power of a mother’s words. Has made me careful what I say to my kids.

[HealthyKS]

Why is it that I'm always yearning for more when these films come to an end?? Such sweet humanity....

[MariaJMcMahon]

You are not just pretty. You are beautiful, extraordinary, and magical. You took something painful and turned it into a beautiful quality within yourself and a gift to others. That's real alchemy.

[eleanorbuck]

I think the lady in this story is beautiful. Her face shines with kindness and sensitivity. What a shame we take so seriously what others say of us. Perhaps we all need to think more about the words we speak before we utter them.

[evesperspective]

I was 60 yrs old when I was able to look into my eyes in the mirror and tell the damaged child within that I would love and protect her. Up until then I was trying to earn love because I was told I was bad and unlovable. We cannot love unconditionally until we accept and love our whole being. We are Love and We are One in consciousness.

[ilkaadalieberwirth]

Let´s just all be the rosebud for her: " I Think She Is Pretty! "
And you are even much more! A wonderful, beautiful, loving soul. So rich, worthy and deep.
No mother should say something like this to her child, but it happened. Yet, it does not define you. It is over. And today it is: "I Think She is Pretty!"
Everyone is!

[susanwilson]

As a nurse I was trying to help a gentleman on the phone, he kept saying how busy I was, I told him, at this moment you are the most important person in my life. There was silence. I thought he dropped the phone. Let's believe this.

[Calivanlivin]

Your mother blessed you with an obstacle that you have transformed into the beautiful, caring and loving woman you are today. Forgive her and thank her for showing you how to love and to share it with the world. I only see beauty in you.

[athousandpathsofhealing]

I watched this beautiful video this morning and then went out for a hike in the forest. Guess what I found: a washer! Will keep it in my pocket from now on to be reminded of this video and the wisdom that was shared in it! Thank you ❤

[judykomarek]

I think you’re beautiful! You are sharing your true authentic self. And that is beautiful.

[Love]

This woman is an absolutely beautiful soul who shines brightly for us all ❤

[bahmdiggity]

I wonder why mothers hurt us so. One minute telling us we can be or do anything we want and the next telling us to either go for the big career with big money or marry a rich man and make babies. I did neither.
This world is in desperate need of kindness. I make a concerted effort to be in the right frame of mind every time I leave the house. To make eye contact and genuinely smile at as many people as possible. To remain calm in traffic and tell myself that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be. It has become easier to be me. I used to stay in a state of anxiety, irritation and trepidation. I wanted to be of service to other people but I had to help myself first. I had to learn to be kinder to me, it is a struggle everyday that I believe is the main lesson most of us need to learn. My hope is that if I can kill the bully in my head with kindness then I can help others accept and project kindness as well. It seems that there’s not a day that goes by where some awful event that happened somewhere in the world isn’t brought into the light. I genuinely feel sadness and ache for the travesty that seems to permeate mankind. There’s a record playing on repeat in my psyche that I’m too sensitive and too high strung. That I should stop caring so much about the terrible things other people do. Guess where that came from.
This was another excellent film. This woman sharing her internal struggles helps people like me feel less alone and less damaged. Thank you.

[fs]

Her message makes me feel better about myself. Her words remind me that each one of us can be a tiny shining star in whose light others may find hope in the darkness. Thank you all for this beautiful video!

[forestsaunter]

Oh my goodness, beautiful angel, thank you. I see you for who you are…a divine rose. So full of love. So full of giving. You have blessed me this day with this lovely offering you have created ♥️ Thank you.

[CarrieLovesLife.]

What a profound question your student asked. ‘When it comes time to die, how do you know you’ve lived a good life? Wow.

[kimcunningham]

You are BEAUTIFUL...the chosen daughter of The Most High God. He's made you perfectly. 💜💜💜 You're message is sooo needed now. We've lost sight of what matters most in Life. Thank you for this Loving, Hopeful video. ❤️ It's really so Simple...We are here to Love God and Love one another.

[justme]

Absolutely. Thank you so much. I love your poetry and this channel.
I've been unable to work for my whole adult life due to chronic health conditions although I've cared for family and engaged in voluntary and charity work. I now write poetry using my life experiences including narcissistic abuse and send my work out for free as a blessing and when you spoke about the one person it made so much sense.
This is one of my verses.

If this speaks to just one person
And for their prison it's the key
Then nothing has been wasted
If someone else is living free
Rosie Philomena

[janelleetsitty]

She is a Great story teller.... she made me ponder my life 💚

[lovelifementoring]

My mum used to say who do you think you are. It kept me small for years but that’s changing. Then I was asked, who are you not to be all you are here to be? Now I spend my life helping people see who they are. Thank you ❤

[nadinedieringer]

I was made the scapegoat child....60 and still working on that healing.❤