Our HEARTS know what REALLY MATTERS

Thank you Justine & Michael 💚

The real treasures in life are not found in the attic or contained in any physical thing. Our hearts know that real treasures are simply moments, memories and people.

Yet our thoughts cloud what our hearts see so clearly. Our mind tells us to hold on so that we don’t lose something or miss out on anything - that if we let it go, we won’t have enough - and that if we don’t have enough, we won’t be enough.

But no matter how much money you make or how much you have, you’ll never be more content, healthy, happy or loved. Nothing you own will bring someone back into your life or make someone in your life love you more.

If you want a joyful life that is filled with love and happiness, align your actions with your heart. When you finally let go, your heart will embrace your real treasures.

Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and enjoying it for everything that it is.

Filmed in Cape Town, South Africa.

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

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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

Music tracks used in this film:
Alices Theme - by Jakob Lindhagen (via Audiio)
Orange Leaves - by Goldfinch (via Audiio)
Making a Life - by Nova (via Audiio)
Fragile - by Matteo De Grandis (via Audiio)
A Great Distance - by Philip Daniel (via Audiio)
Moving Towards Resolution - by Spearfisher (via Audiio)
Minning - by Osker Wyld (via ArtList)
Nostalgia - by Osker Wyld (via ArtList)
Tea for One - by Yehezkel Raz (via ArtList)

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:
Bulgarian - by Polina Stoyanova
Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) - by Shun-Ying Lu
Dutch - by Karla Greven
English - by Justine du Toit
French - by Amélie Macoin
German - by Tanja Pütz
Greek - by Vicky Polychroni
Hindi - by Parul Sharma
Hungarian - by Zorka Evetovics
Indonesian - by Ary Nuansa
Italian - by Grazia Gironella
Macedonian - by Lidija Pusevska Markovska
Polish - by Anna Konieczna
Portuguese - by Sibylle Steinpass and Lucivani Valvassori
Romanian - by Anca Zaharia
Russian - by Assiya Marzhanova
Slovak - by Zuzana Beratsova
Slovenian - by Jasmina Kovačič
Thai - by Pimmi Uamart
Vietnamese - by Thi Le

[Vivechyanityam]

Solitude rather than a bad company is a bliss..

[jcsrst]

The joy of getting older is realizing what really matters and not caring about what doesn't.

[jenna]

I wish I lived next door to Gina. We'd sew and paint and talk deeply about deep things. We'd butter bread and drink tea and laugh out loud about holiday men.

[kindred-spirits]

Whenever I find myself feeling down or disillusioned with life, I turn to this channel for solace. It's so comforting to have people from all ages and walks of life who've gone through the strife and struggles of life and come out on the other side, and to be able to hear their stories and be reminded that there is much beyond life than my current struggles as long as I have the courage to go on. I am absolutely amazed by the limitless wisdom and beauty of this channel. Words cannot express my gratitude to you for creating these extraordinary documentaries.

[Mia-eimh]

She paints, bakes, writes, speaks well, stich & have a garden 🥹it's a dream life 💕

[Lotus]

Under 2 min. in, I’m tearful & so grateful for Gina & her message. A few days before my mother transitioned, she looked me directly in my eyes and said, “stop taking life so seriously, it’s not for you to understand, enjoy your life more, please.” With tears in our eyes, we hugged and I nodded like I “got it.” For the last two days, been journaling more & letting go … finally, a decade later, at 59, her words are ringing true. Freedom. Grateful.

[AtHomeWithLulu]

I am an empty nester, nearing 50 yrs old and have been struggling deeply, with sadness, anxiety and loneliness. Having a difficult time settling into my “now” life. Struggling to accept my aging face and body, my empty home and just trying to figure out what it is that I should be doing with this season of my life. Gina’s story and sweet, gentle wisdom was a balm to my angsty soul. Thank you for showing us how peaceful and joyful the second half of life can be. It gave me a glimmer of hope.

[curtisgrindahl]

Having watched many of these I think I can say that healing really comes about from having a cat in your life... or a dog, but probably a cat.

[pacificnorthwestgirl]

I really liked the message in this video, thank you. Her mother's quote " If there is something you cannot fix, step over it... learn to step over it and let it go"...

[nilepearl]

"Although my head understood it completely ... my heart took a lot longer to accept that" !

[l.]

She is fortunate to have enough money to live the way she does. Many of us, after losing long time relationships, and particularly if they ended abusively, have a very difficult time providing the necessities of life....on top of the grief of what you thought you had.

[esteeb]

I was married at 19, we have a son and a daughter. My husband passed away October of last year after a battle with brain cancer. We were married 41 years this coming Monday.
Her message resonated with me a lot, maybe in a different way however I really enjoyed and learned from it.😊

[rachelcharris]

Today has enough trouble of it's own - Jesus ❤

[liveacousticsound]

I understand loss and grief better than most. I lost my adult daughter suddenly, and the grief has shattered me. I don’t know if I will ever be at a place of acceptance. The loss of a child isn’t like other types of loss.

[shemlocked]

I’ve learned at 30 to let go of what I can’t control and it really made a difference.

[justpassingthrough]

I love how honestly she speaks of heartbreak! So many times people only express the courageous parts of surviving heartbreak. This lovely lady openly shared the hard part. What a blessing! Once again Green Renaissance has blessed me with a beautiful film. Thank you!

[judylandry]

As an older women, be careful of men who pretend to be interested but who really just want a "nurse" with a purse; someone (you) to take care of them.
And NEVER let them move in with you.

[lindylou]

How wonderful.😊 I stayed with my husband for financial reasons. We have been married for 50 years & it’s been a roller coaster ride. Three years ago I came into a small inheritance but within these last 3 years my husband also has developed prostate cancer & beginning stages of dementia so I now feel trapped because if I were to leave now my daughters would feel they are responsible for their fathers care & I wouldn’t want that. So I wait.

[cloudsinmycoffeeeee]

I am so grateful that I found this channel. I am in my late 20s and want to realize as early as now what truly matters in this life. I don’t want to overthink and overanalyze. I don’t want to chase things that won’t matter in the long run.

[peggyduncanbaggenstoss]

A much as I loved my Children’s father after 20 years of tolerating his constant infidelity I had to leave the marriage. I was immediately emotionally released. It took a few years to become financially stable as I ended up paying for some of his debts as they were incurred while married… we were in Arkansas. I never ask him for repayment as I knew from his previous bad money management record it would have been wasted time.
God continues to Bless me beyond measure.