GRATITUDE - Are you THANKFUL?

Thank you Justine & Michael 💚

Life can be tough, and it makes people act tough too. But this is often not a true reflection of their inner selves - rather it is a shield to protect themselves against the hardships and uncertainties of this world.

Behind every stern facade or weathered demeanor, there's a story waiting to be heard, wounds in need of healing, and a heart capable of boundless compassion. Beneath the layers of self-preservation, lies the genuine desire to connect, empathise, and be there for others.

And when we catch a glimpse of the beauty of the human spirit, we are reminded that kindness and love reside within us all, awaiting the chance to bloom and illuminate the world.

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:

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
Croatian - by Davor Bobanac
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
Persian - by Mona Zadsham
Polish - by Anna Konieczna
Portuguese - by Sibylle Steinpass and Lucivani Valvassori
Romanian - by Anca Zaharia
Slovak - by Zuzana Beratsova
Slovenian - by Jasmina Kovačič
Vietnamese - by Thi Le

[sallyflavell]

I have gotten to 73 and realised my alone state of mind and it was dark place of loss and deep remorse. Hopelessness. Sadness, a death of life inside and yet my heart still beat and my mind churned self hate. I prayed and cried for years and felt no way out of the misery. Suddenly i am opening unwinding untwisting into a new creation and its exciting scary wondrous and so different to anything i have ever known. I have a refuge in God and its a safe haven after years of abuse and loss. Still in wonder and still cry every day with sheer gratitude for being heard by the one being who knows me better than i know myself. So now i can rest in peace and security and love i didnt know existed til now and realise i have allways hungered for deeply. A work in progress for sure. Each day now has possibilities and incredible miracles!

[vczxcgd]

Elderly ! NOT. You are a 'young man' with so much soul. Love your peaceful knowledge

[bmonique]

How timely. Hearing this beautiful person speak was like receiving a blessing of mentorship, a gentle uplifting reminder, from another me. What a beautiful world!

[simplybeingme]

Such a beautiful man. Be kind. Be thankful. ❤❤ Thank you.

[lisagilmore-wigu]

To the couple that produce this channel, these beautiful clips- bravo 👏- you are doing humanity at its finest… finding truth in who we really are! Pure beauty…..❤

[nancykelly]

At 70, I have realized the only thing that matters is kindness. My deepest regret now is the many times I failed to be kind. And I wonder why. Did I have a choice? Given borderline personality disorder, my angry parents, could I have chosen differently? I want to choose differently going forward.

[kindred-spirits]

"I used to imagine an enormous wall of darkness with one little hole, and all an individual is - you happen to have your eye put on that one little pin hole. So you're looking at reality through this one microscopically small vantage point. And not only that, you're then deciding that your little vantage point is THE vantage point."

What a gorgeous and profoundly true analogy.

[thabright]

This channel has been a gift in my life, thank you very much for this wonderful and inspiring work! Hugs from Brazil❤

[longlost]

there's a reason why wisdom only comes to us with age. we need the life experience to reflect upon through our memories and annalis of the past. each day arrives with the same possibility for us to experience with the wonder and amazement of a child.

in this life (61) the greatest lesson I've learned is to allow myself to get out of my own way, and rejoice in the experience of the here, the now. even with those "off" times when the experience may not be as flavorful as we might hope, the experience itself becomes its own reward over the boundless reflections of time. with each passing day we continuously become the person we see every day in our morning mirror reflection.


every day, while the experience may seem to muddle along the journey of sameness, our ability to pepper our paths with the joy of experience lies within us. all that we need do is allow our immersion into the experience and see what the day will bring....

[exedraexedra]

Guru😇🙏
"Somewhere beyond right and wrong, there is a garden . I'll meet you there" - Rumi.
Thank you for this wonderful glimpse into the mind of a
' gorgeous ' human ❤️🙏

[lizcilliers]

"Just be kind" Such a beautiful sentiment. Thank you for an inspiring video.

[caroldavis]

Thank you, Green Renaissance, for bringing forth such beauty and wisdom into the world. May you be blessed.

[Elizabeth-deuv]

Wow. Peter, your words and your paintings...I don't have words for it something so special coming across. Thank you. Justine & Michael, so grateful to you for your beautiful vision.

[mariabernadethtukan]

"I'm even grateful for the capacity to be grateful" soon to be my quotes of the day

[gammaraytube]

Watching these videos have become my early morning meditation. Hearing and seeing these wonderful humans, like Peter, share their experience is confirming and inspiring. As a therapist I see the child within with the courageous clients I work with - that curious, wonderful, playful, open hearted spirit is a joy to witness. Peace, gratitude and love to all of you. Oh, and I had to laugh out loud with the story of grumpy old men becoming reconnected and happy with the puppy. I know that well.

[novruznovruzov]

"I’m even grateful for the capacity to be grateful." is the quote of the day)) Thanks for everything. Just a glimpse at those paintings would provoke positive feelings inside you.

[britton_waif]

Beautiful and graceful!!!
His thoughts. Paintings. It carries so much grace!!
And this cinematography is pure poetry!! Thank you!!

[wackthegood]

What a change!! I'm so used to hearing comments about "animals are wonderful, but humanity is terrible, warped, evil, doomed" etc... to hear someone saying that all humans are basically wonderful inside their carapace - wow! How refreshing, and yet it's so true. This video has given me a reason to be grateful today! And I love his art.

[rachidbennaji]

The tongue is unable to describe this kind of people much love of them ❤️

[ManuelaChristina]

In nature we found our own nature ❤ i love every video of yours, always stunning ❤ thanks Justine and Michael 🎉 thanks Peter 🎉