Reflections of Life produces gorgeous short films that uplift the personal stories of ordinary people, with the goal of sharing ideas and inspiring change. We feel hugely blessed to feature video-stories that filmmakers Michael and Justine capture with exquisite expertise, and which so beautifully illustrate grateful living principles and practices. In this short film we hear from Ivy and Gordon.

Learn more about Reflections of Life (formerly Green Renaissance) through our Grateful Changemaker feature.

Questions for Reflection

  • What moved your most about Ivy and Gordon’s message?
  • Do you have a “secret” to a long-lasting marriage or relationship from your own experience?

We invite you to share your reflections below the video transcript that follows.

Video Transcript

Ivy: Did it make any difference that I was down here and you was up there? 

Gordon: Made a good difference. I’ve been looking down at you. 

Ivy: And you thought that I could look up to you.

Gordon: 51 years we’ve been married now.

Ivy: Coming January.

Gordon: January will be 52.

Ivy: The last few years have flown by so quickly.

Gordon: I don’t know…what the secret is. Just that I suppose we agree together, and we have fun together.

Ivy: I do the cooking.

Gordon: Oh, leave the cooking out. We go shopping together.

Ivy: Yes. He sees how much I spend.

Gordon: But I always give her a card for her birthday…a birthday card. 

Oh, love! Well, I suppose love is something that you feel passionate about somebody and you get so attached and you feel that you want this person forever. So you gain this passionate love. The feeling of love, it didn’t change. I still feel the same.

Ivy: Mind you, we do have our ups and downs. Because it’s only natural, we are human. At one stage we had an argument, and I went to sleep in the crib…the baby’s crib. Instead of getting into bed with him, I went to sleep in the crib. But we always laugh about that. It was so funny.

Be honest with each other. If you make a mistake, talk it over. It can be tomorrow, he won’t be with me. And I’ll never forgive myself if we argue and live like that, you know what I mean. Don’t let it fester. Because you know the man you married. I hope he knows the woman he married.

Gordon: I think so. Well I think maybe we are well blessed…and very lucky.

Ivy: I never feel one moment that I made the wrong decision. I am so grateful, honestly.

Gordon: Our 60th, oh! 

Ivy: Maybe we won’t be able to walk. At least we’ll be able to laugh. That’s true. Laughter, it’s a good medicine.

To support Michael and Justine in their film-making journey, visit Reflections of Life.


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Reflections of Life

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About the author

Justine and Michael are a creative couple living in South Africa.  Their project, Reflections of Life (formerly Green Renaissance), works to spread positive stories that reflect the wonder of the world. With the goal of sharing ideas and inspiring change, they produce gorgeous short films that are posted online and available for anyone, anywhere, to watch and share freely.

 

Through their films, they explore what it means to be human. They touch on topics that can often be difficult for people to discuss – from loss of a loved one to aging and retirement to friendship to love and courage – universal themes that we all deal with at some stage in our lives.

 

By sharing these stories, Justine and Michael hope to remind us of one simple truth – that we are all human – that inside our hearts and minds, we are all facing similar challenges.  We have so much to learn from each other, and our connections run so much deeper and stronger than we think. Learn more and support their work at reflectionsof.life.

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