I am 63 years of age. I have found that as image I care less about the criticism or opinions of other people. I have learned how to accept and love myself. I only spend time with people who love me and avoid stress and drama.
I am 86, soon , and only lately i am learning to love me, all my live I was trying my best to love a lot of people, that took my caring for granted, but at last i seen the light, and moved on. I get so much pleasure from nature, her unending gifts, like the first snow drop in bloom , then all the spring flowers that follow on, I have learnt to look at the stars, the moon giving us her glow, sunshine, has to be the best, for lifting us out of , what ever, I write poetry , i love to put my feelings and thoughts on paper, Celabrate each hour and day, its all we have .
I'm 75yoa, having a wonderful life, how come? I hear you ask, well I'll tell you, when I was about 50yoa I had a revelation, a light bulb moment if you like, I suddenly realised there was and still is a great deal of things I don't give a shit about, my decision, ohhhh life is so good, thank you, your welcome, Love and Peace to all you good people.
I think the majority of us come to the realization of this. Some of us are lucky to find out that earlier , than some. I was 54 and covid happened, I did self care and love. Within 3 years, forgave my past and just let it go. Forgave and appreciated people who came and left my life. At age 54 bashed my fears went zip line ng, hot air balloon ride and went on a 4 story water slide. I've done a spiritual awakening and hiked 13 km in nature and did a hug a cow session. Nature is my temple, not a building with someone reinventing what they think God wants for us. Nature is where I pray, dream and hope. ❤
Thanks so much for sharing. How wonderful that you arrived at this point, that you ventured out and tried out all sorts of new things. Keep going with it. Warmest hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
Can you imagine that sparkly spirit, the eyes, the smile, the laugh contained in a tiny willowy body? I cannot. Such a small frame could not contain every lovely thing that this woman is. I'm going to bungle this but: An apple tree does not want to be a Sequoia. It's an apple tree. It's enough. If only we could all get there sooner, before it is too late. A universal story. I enjoyed every second of her...
Thank you for your touching and encouraging message. Beautifully described. So happy you enjoyed every second of this video. Warmest hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
This wonderful woman is bursting full of peace and love. I have never seen someone so full of light and joy. I hope she does sit and wonder at her physical self in the mirror and through every brush stroke come to an understanding of what we all see. A beautiful soul bringing such wonder and delight to the world as she passes through it. Thank you for continuing to bring these stories to our attention. Stunning. Just stunning........
What a beautiful text! And what a profound idea! Reading your comment actually brought tears of joy to my eyes. 😢Thank you! Never thought a man could say something like you did..
When I was a young woman I found myself beginning to think like my mother, critical of self and others. It felt so draining, and I did not want to become my mother. So one day something occurred to me. I could try to overcome it by replacing the dark thoughts with lighter ones. Committed from that moment on, for every dark thought that rose to my awareness I would match it with an equally light thought. I don’t recall when it happened because it was seamless but one day maybe several months later I found myself no longer replacing my thoughts and no longer having critical ones. Years later while in therapy I would learn this technique was much like CBT, which helped me to understand why it worked so amazingly 😊 ❤ Thank you for this beautifuly raw authentic story. Such a beautiful woman and spirit.
Thank you for sharing your own experiences. So wonderful that you could overcome and change your way of thinking. Glad could share this video with you. Warmest wishes, Justine and Michael. 💚
I’m in the dark too! However I truly believe that this world is beautiful exists! At times I believe this is a heaven! We just have been making a mess out of it! Our prejudices, hate, and destructive behavior. We are placed here, among a soup of living things. And just when we have had enough of everything we see, God gave us this beautiful little fuzzy creatures to care for! Cats and dogs! We need to see the divine in every soul! EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, may your path become clearer. Wonderful that there is so much good around you. Warmest wishes, Justine and Michael. 💚
Thank you, Catherine, for sharing the light of your beautiful Self. And thank you Justine and Michael for capturing this Beauty with us. All of your video creations are laced with profound meaning and goodness. THANK YOU! 🙏
Thank you!!! This is so beautiful! Sometimes we need to see ourselves through the eyes of those who truly love us....especially when we cannot love ourselves the way we should!
The real blessing is that you feel this way about having a mother and I envy that, even though mine is still alive. This woman had a very critical mother that caused deep wounds in her, she is still strugling with her self worth at 67. Sadly families are often toxic.
Interesting....before she continued to talk and only a few minutes in I thought how beautiful this lady is...her presence and also physically. That's how she appeared to me 😊
Gosh! I’m feeling speechless right now. I actually woke up this morning with that negative voice chirping away in my head. I wanted to silence it, so I decided to change my radio channel and tune into a more positive frequency, the “Reflection of life”… And there you were speaking about your Mom’s critical voice in your head, and her authoritarian voice. I couldn’t stop wiping away my tears. They say that people can mirror who you are… And I saw and heard the beauty of Angels through you… Thank you.🌸🌼
Oh wow - what a message that has made us emotional. We're so glad to hear that you found this message when you needed to hear it most. May Catherine's message continue to live on in your heart. Sending love and care. Justine and Michael 💚
I just turned 67 and sometimes I think these thoughts. Thank you for this video! As for our bodies, my friend and I still struggle and I said the other day, I am only thinking health now. I am going to be grateful and thankful and happy. Oh,and my sweet husband of 47 years says the same. I had breast cancer and one side is totally different, it bothered me for while. Now I still think it’s ugly but I know he doesn’t care and I also am thankful that I am alive and well.
Thank you for watching this video. Wonderful that you came to the point of accepting the way you are. Wishing you many more happy, good and healthy years. Warm hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
I was 57 when I started to have realizations and let go of so many draining thoughts. I said no more. I took a stand in my life. Now 63 years young and I feel peace grace and free.
Catherine is a beautiful woman and a very talented artist. Unfortunately, she suffers from what many of us have “self criticism “, and we are our worst enemy. It’s very hard to turn off our busy “monkey mind”! ☹️
What a beautiful soul she is, I got tears, saw myself in her like she's an older version of me telling me to be kind to myself and loving myself by letting go. I'm 33 currently ❤
I am living this beautiful experience too! I’m almost 62 and while I look and feel wonderful, I realize that I am letting go! Shedding the ego and embracing my true self with the good, bad and ugly! It feels like I am being set free from the prison I locked myself into! And for what? I am letting go and letting myself out! Thank you for the lovely message.
As parents we have to be so aware the words we tell our children will one day become their inner dialogue. I relate to her relationship with her mother. My mother also very critical and not alot of encouragement was given to me growing up. now, 36 years old and it can be so painful at times when that inner voice wants to put you down and say your not good enough, or your not trying hard enough. You never get anything right. It’s so hard not to belief them and see them for what they truly are - somebody else’s thoughts. I hope she can soften the words of that inner voice as do I xx
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. We are glad that you managed to deal with that inner voice that was interfering in your life. Well done, so encouraging. Sending you warmest of hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
We are all here on this journey to experience, learn, grow and to be kind, gentle and loving to ourselves and all living. As a past RN... I've experienced so much human emotions, pain and suffering... so in my twilight years... I go by my intuition and think positively about myself and life. Don't let others create an image of you but focus on the moment you have been given. Shine your "divine light" to the world and "Stand Up" for yourself! Thank you for this lovely ladies interview! Namaste. From a Vietnam Era Marine Corps veteran.
It was a pleasure to share the video with you. We thank you for your warm and encouraging words - to shine our light, to stand up for ourself, to be kind, etc. Wishing you only the best for this time of your life. Warm hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
Thank you for this video. My head is so clouded with self-doubt that I often stop myself before I even start. I hope to one day be able to let it all be. Until then, I think I’ll keep coming back to this video to remind me that I’m not alone❤ thank you for being real and vulnerable in a way that I’d like to emulate.
Wonderful that her message resonated so much with you. May her words inspire and help you for your own walk through life. Wishing you the very best. Warmest hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
This is so beautiful AND relatable. Catherine’s journey from letting the critical voices affect her to the freedom she is now finding is so healing to hear. She absolutely shines!Once again, the music, the visuals - you’ve mastered the medium of meditative storytelling. I imagine when she watched this she just weeped at the way you so beautifully showed her to herself. Thank you for another gift to nourish my soul.
Your words are so deep, encouraging and beautiful, they are comforting. Thank you once again. We are so happy that you felt all fitted together. Sending you many warm hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
I love everything this channel produces but this one especially was my story too and she read my favorite poem as well. So lovely. What a delightfully beautiful lady. 💗
I just won a first place ribbon in a multi state art competition and because I didn’t win the people’s choice award I have the voice in my head saying I didn’t deserve the first place- because everyone else liked this other one. I love this video. Thank you ❤
Glad this video was so fitting, may her words inspire you. And congratulations for winning a first place ribbon, well done. Warm hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
I bet the person who won the people's choice award is saying.."but that other person won first place." Congratulations to you both. I am sure both of you are truly creative & wonderful artists. Much love. 🙏🏽💕
I don’t know how you find these people, they’re all so wise… even when they say they aren’t. It’s remarkable how channeled her challenges and frustrations towards her creativity! The videos complement the mood and nature of the content so well. Also, the change in name for your channel is so very apt. I could perhaps even say, meditations on life. They are indeed meditative and comforting. Thank you all!
Thank you for your kind and encouraging message - about Catherine, our work and the name change. Wonderful to read how all works so well together for you. Thank you for sharing these thoughts. Warm hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
My mother was a talented ceramicist and she shined through her art and her beautiful spirit. You also shine in such a beautiful way. Bless you and thank you for making my waking up more precious .
What a lovely soul! There is power in her authenticity. Her story resonates with so many things that I often wonder about. What a pleasure to be watching this on a Sunday morning. Thank you, Catherine and Reflections of Life!
It’s not easy to bare one’s innermost thoughts but you have achieved this in the most beautiful way………. I am the same age as you and the little voice in my head repeats, “ You don’t matter “ …….when I hear it I also make a conscious decision to say to myself I do matter and it’s absolutely okay to be a perfectionist. ❤
So, so happy that her message resonated with you. May her words encourage you to keep on silencing that voice in your head. Warmest wishes, Justine and Michael. 💚
I relate to her so very much! This is wonderful. I am also an artist in my 60s and have struggled with my body as well. Thank you for sharing a real creative person having real life experiences. Inner critic be gone!!!
This woman had something to teach me, about body acceptance, vanity, wanting to look good… as a man I never thought it was that relevant to me, but I recently found it lurking in the shadows, when showering I stand in front of the mirror and I look honestly at my belly. I don’t have much of an inner critic, but sometimes I am my own worst enemy. Thank you for your insights.
I’m absolutely in awe of this woman. Her God light & laughter & most wonderful humaness is pure gold. She is Us… and I wonder if my own light could ever shine like hers? Thank you 💖💖💖💖
Я думаю ,что для большинства из нас самая большая борьба - это любить себя и быть добрым к себе.🙏🥲 Это так трудно ,когда внутренний критик просыпается... Замечательный стих. Спасибо Катерина, Майкл,Джустина!💛🤗
Thank you for sharing these thoughts. Yes, we so often struggle to be kind to ourself, to accept ourself. May her message encourage us to do just that. Warm hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
Like hoisting a sail, feeling the breeze, and peering over the stern to see one make one's way ... away from the inner distractions so that we may live our precious lives in peace as each of us have the right to do.
What a lovely story about self love; it’s exactly what I need, as I’ve struggled with self acceptance as long as I can remember... With gratitude, I just discovered this beautiful channel last night. Thank you for creating these wonderful, poignant films. ❤
A warm welcome to you, so happy you came across our channel. And also so glad you enjoyed this video. We hope you will discover many more that resonate with you. Warmest hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
😊 siete delle splendide persone che io sento vicino nonostante la grande distanza. Riuscite sempre a mostrarci il buono e il bello attraverso questi meravigliosi video. Grazie di ❤.
You are so welcome. We are so thankful that we can share these videos with you and so many others all over the world. Wonderful to have you with us on our journey. Much love, Justine and Michael. 💚
Thank you for this video. The first time i watched it, i sobbed. I revisit it when i need coursge, going through my divorce. Thank you for creating these films. You are helping so many
You are most welcome, we are glad this video is so valuable to you and it gives you courage. So thankful you are appreciating our work. Wishing you all the best and sending you warmest wishes, Justine and Michael. 💚
Thank you ever so much for every soul out there for standing for themselves in all those hard painful lonely nights. Divine Mother Universe loves us all from core of her heart and really proud of us. I am proud of you all for shining so bright after all those rainy nights 🐼 Stay blessed🙂 🐼🙌 Mother Universe bless you all with everything you all need in this journey back to home. Stay blessed 🐼 Happy Holidays to all 🐼🙌 Hariom
@@sandrabentley8111 the Divine Mother Tao she is there in everyone in every place in everything. She is creater, she is the one who is taking care of everything & she is the one who will end everything. The Divine Energy 🐼
Reflections I love your beautiful dog ! Her demeanor is so gentle and loving. Thx for all you do to bring hope and calmness in your videos to a chaotic, unrecognizable world. I try to "let it all be". Namaste .Canada.❣❣
Thank you for your touching message, glad you like the videos we share as well as our dog. We are thankful that we can give hope and with these stories. Sending you warm hugs to Canada, Justine and Michael. 💚
I shared this channel with my sister and my friends. This sad, old world with its many conflicts and tragedies can be an oppressively dark place to live. But we, as individuals, have the wondrous ability to fuel the tiny flicker within us until it becomes a warm, bright light we carry with us that dispels darkness, like the morning sun.
Beautiful thoughts. Continue to share the light in the world. Thank you for sharing our channel with others, we appreciate it. Much love, Justine and Michael. 💚
So much learnings about of letting go..I just recently found your channel from green to reflection. Thank you! It helps me more on my being. Mental health especially. Everytime I watch every videos it feels likes healing.🍀✨️🙏
Welcome to our channel, wonderful to have you with us on our journey. So glad the videos are so valuable to you and bring healing. Warm hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
Each time I watch this, I'm moved to tears. She is a shining example of the self-acceptance and self-love we should bestow upon ourselves. The thought of the warmth of the sun that she describes,... that's it, right there - that's how we should want it to feel when we let go, and just love ourselves as enough as we are. It's going to be a lifetime of work for me to try... but try I shall.
Touching message. Nice that her story made such an impact on you and inspired you try and change yourself. It will take a bit of time but it's worth it. We wish you all the strength and patience you need. Warmest hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
Wow - this is exactly what my life has been about since I can remember as a very young only child to my parents. Learning now, Thank God to easy and forgive myself if not perfect in all I do. The burden has been very hard in my heart and mind that I've hidden the fears from the world, only if people knew how I feel/ felt. Beautiful Video and reminder of the true essence to be nice and acceptive of oneself with Love.
We're sad to hear that you have had a difficult and similar experience. But so proud of you for stepping forward and learning to love yourself, to be more gentle, to 'let it be'. We send love. Justine and Michael. 💚
seeking perfection; the act, the perception, within itself is an exercise in futility. the beauty of life, in all of its forms, is the realization that the imperfections are what constitutes the beauty of life. the essence of our humanity bears this out by constantly showing us how our existence is precarious. this life itself is to be lived, not perfected......
I modeled for life drawing classes for a while, putting my fleshy body on display. The artists drew me with such sensitivity. The pictures were beautiful. I found that helpful
First of all, Catherine, you are beautiful inside and out. I particularly love your energy - a joie de vivre , and your artistry - I, too, make goddesses (beaded ones). Your struggle likely resonates with so many humans. Not measuring up to some version of acceptability, gender-specific perfection, a standard of some kind. I’ve struggled with similar feelings - about facial features - since I hit puberty and I am now 68. Thank you for sharing your story with us 🙏❤️
What a touching message, thank you. We are glad her message spoke to you deeply and hope her words can help you with your own struggles. Sending you warm hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
@@ReflectionsofLife I only just found you guys yesterday and not even sure how. Probably RU-vid suggested based on my activity….I was going to email you, actually, to introduce myself and tell you how much your content resonates with my heart and interests. Your filming , the aesthetics and style is really beautiful. So excited to begin journeying with you. Am not able to donate at this time but I have it on my list to budget for! Godspeed!!
We're so glad to hear that this story resonated so deeply with you. Thanks for taking the time to watch. And we send love to you, across the seas from South Africa. Justine and Michael. 💚
We all have that inner voice, does it ever stop talking! You’re beautiful Catherine inside and out 🩷 … and I love your work! Best wishes from Scotland 🍂
Thank you so much for writing these kind and encouraging words. And yes, sadly 'this voice' wants to talk to all of us... but we can stop it. Sending you warm wishes from South Africa, Justine and Michael. 💚
I wanted to cry at the thought that this beauty of a woman has thoughts of being revolted and disgusted by her vuluptious body. I sufferred for being too slender because of jealousy from family. How shallow to not see someone for their being them and only what the eyes perceive. I feel free at least that although I am only looked at as physically pleasing body wise, I always 'see myself' for my inner self, my soul. I do not erase myself as was done to me. That is healing to me at 49years old.
Your films are little treasures that so many of us are delighted to find quite by accident and on most days when I do, their stores are exactly what needed to hear about at that moment in time. Thank you. ❤️
Oh my gosh but your pottery is stunning!!! And I love the flower arrangement at the end - a beautiful composition!!! But I know about that voice too and the more we can put ourselves completely in the now, we can let it go more easily. Thank you so much for sharing this!!!
It's a pleasure. So nice that there was so much in this video that resonated with you. Wishing you all the best on your own journey of 'letting go'. Warmest hugs, Justine and Michael. 💚
I cried through most of this video. She gave voice to EVERYTHING I have felt my entire life about myself. I am soon to be 64 and still cannot get out from under the negative voices that are a continual drumbeat in my soul.
We hope that you continue to draw inspiration and courage from the story that Catherine shared with us - and that you too find ways to silence that inner critic, blossoming into the fullness of the true you. We send you warm hugs. Justine and Michael. x
