The apple cloud

In the desert: a scorching heat!

It is the temperature of greed.

In the sky almost uniformly blue,

there is a little cloud too.

As if magic, it takes the form of a grape.

It swells and grows into a big apple’s shape.

And from my wonderful apple cloud,

Sweet drops of wisdom start raining out.

And as if by the hand of God

A grassy carpet forms on the sand so hot

The raindrops of wisdom are spreading love

A wonderful kindness coming from high above

On the grass, soulful flowers start to grow

And all over, gentleness and harmony flow

In the meantime, still wisdom is pouring out

From that wonderful apple cloud.

Oh, no my friends, this is not just a dream,

In our world now still full of greed, soon will stream:

 A flow of love causing a true wisdom revolution:

That will be the pinnacle of God’s planned evolution!

Maybe needs a bit of explanation :)

The first few stanzas may seem like a strange dream.

But looking how the world is evolving, we have gone though the desert of abominable wars, prosecution, cruelties. We still have those things around but the people being free from these things and who are willing to stand up and speak up and act against these things is ever growing. Once these numbers reach a critical point, kindness and wisdom may capture the world in avalanche speed. 

I am quite sure we are not too far away from that turning point :)

You may call this overly optimistic, but the future will show what evolution is leading to. :) 


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Hope you enjoyed this reflection by Hans Van Rostenberghe
Feel free to share it, use it in any way
Will be grateful if you mention the link http://reflectionsbyhans.blogspot.com/

If you have time, please take also a look at
the inspirational quotes page connected to this blog
some of my poems published under my pen name Aufie Zophy.

short and simple essays on good things 

 

The "good old times" (?)

Whenever I hear people talking about the good old times,
I get a shiver or two over my spine.

It just takes to read a few novels of 200 years ago to get an impression
of how "good" the old times were.

If we want to talk about good times, it is very clear to me
we have to talk about now.

Even though there is still a lot of vice and there are still a lot of problems
in today's world, life has changed for the better at an enormous pace.

The biggest blessing that humankind has received over the past few centuries
is the huge increase in love and kindness.

At first sight, we may not be aware of that, but if we examine a bit more closely
the past with all its greed, wars, crude discrimination, superstition and cruelties,
anyone should be able to conclude that love and kindness and wisdom has taken
major leaps forward in the last century and the last few decades.

Just thinking  about this,
and seeing what is happening,
I have become a strong believer that somehow
the world is moving towards a world filled with kindness and love.
The number of people getting the correct perception that happiness
is a by product of love and kindness rather than of greed and power,
is increasing 'sooooo' fast
Considering the rate at which kindness and love multiplies, it will not be too long,
that the ongoing kindness revolution will become a clear fact for anyone to see,
whether or not you believe in it now.

Let us play our active role and speed up still further this kindness revolution
by our daily random kind acts for family and strangers alike.



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Hope you enjoyed this reflection by Hans Van Rostenberghe
Feel free to share it, use it in any way (perhaps except for commercial purposes)
Will be grateful if you mention the link http://reflectionsbyhans.blogspot.com/

If you have time, please take also a look at
the inspirational quotes page connected to this blog
some of my poems published under my pen name Aufie Zophy.

Aladdin

When I imagined for awhile I had the lamp of Aladdin,
I thought what would I wish for?

My first wish that came to mind was to be a world-wide authority in kindness, to be
a spark or flame that makes a foundation for a never ending kindness revolution.
Somewhere deep inside I believe that my poetry ( Poems from Hans (aufie zophy) )
and my blog maybe a small beginning of this big wish coming true.

Then I thought: Isn't it a bit selfish not to wish first for my family.
But Aladdin had three wishes, remember :)

So my second wish was for my family to be full of harmony and health and have a superb time with each other very often.

My third wish came from somewhere deep inside:
To be a father like figure for a large group of children to whom they came with their small and big problems and whom they would love to hear stories from.

I had also a fourth and fifth wish:
To be able to help as many neonates fare well in Kelantan as possible and to establish/consolidate the home care for whomever needs it.

I know Aladdin is a fable, but it is always good to keep our wishes, our ideals alive. Write them on and off down and who knows, one day they will be reality. Every day we can make some mini steps towards them :)

I want to end with a wonderful quote of Jawaharlal Nehru:

Failure comes only 

when we forget our ideals

and objectives and principles

Green

Some of my most happy moments
are when I just take the time
to look at, fully enjoy looking at greenery

In the upcoming day, I will make some time
to just look, do nothing else but look
at the greenery, find the beauty in it
and simply enjoy!
Will you do the same?
Let us do it together.
It will give us peace of mind
and it will inspire us to inspire the world :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Hope you enjoyed this soul sprinkle by Hans Van Rostenberghe
Feel free to share it, use it in any positive way
Will be grateful if you mention the link http://reflectionsbyhans.blogspot.com/

If you have time, please take also a look at
the inspirational quotes page connected to this blog
some of my poems published under my pen name Aufie Zophy.

Touched

Touched by the tremendous love in the hall.
So many parents brought their disabled children to the health camp.
The very special bond and supreme love of these parents was so touching.
That love was filling the hall where the health camp was held.

Touched by the tremendous love in the hall.
More than 250 volunteers had worked so hard for days.
Their love and care for the disabled children, so heart warming.
The hall was truly filled with love.

I just came back from a health camp for disabled children (Johor).
There is sooooo much love in this world of 2017.
There is sooooo much love.

Much more love than hatred!

Much more love than sadness!

Much more love than wickedness!

Much more love than greed!

I do not worry for the future of the world.

While greed is still running high in some areas,
I am so sure love will be its master
While the world has still a lot of haters
Love will be their master

Yes, I was touched today, in so many ways
by the tonnes of love that were present in the hall of the health camp

The mass media (try to) portray that all bad things are on the increase
and that love is shrinking fast in this world.
You and I,  if we look at the people we know, at the world around us,
we know better. Love is ever increasing, and wickedness and hatred
are dying a slow but certain death.

Yes, I was touched today, in so many ways
by the tonnes of love that were present in the hall of the health camp

Judging

I remember so well, a few weeks ago, a lady losing her temper towards a receptionist in a hotel.
We were just in the process of checking in. I told to my wife, loud enough, so the angry lady could hear it: "How ugly is it to lose your temper like this!"

Today, I am staying in another hotel. Yesterday, there was a problem with the lift. It was the room card that did not function to select the floor. We were in a hurry and the one behind the reception took a very long time to solve the problem. Somehow I lost my temper towards him.

Now I feel ashamed to have lost my temper to the receptionist who was actually doing his best. I am grateful, I got a chance to apologize to him. But the main lesson I learned, I think, of the two events (the angry lady few weeks ago and my own anger yesterday) is not to judge too easily when others lose their temper :)

We are all human.
If we sincerely look back at our own life, we all have done some things that are really not nice.
We may detest these things now, but remembering somehow our own weakness will make us milder when it comes to judging others.

If some people do things we don't like, we can try to see the soul inside, try to understand. It will help us not to judge. We can always replace our judgements with kindness.

 Love and kindness seem the highway to happiness and peace of mind!
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Please visit also:  inspirational/motivational quotes from Hans
and Poems by Aufie Zophy

Reflection

A sip of my cup
of pure Brazilian Coffee;
late at night,
thinking about my day.

The afternoon came first to mind:
the beautiful face of KakWan
A retired matron, still caring,
caring for the most miserable people
with a heart so full of love
with a soul so full of spirit.
Is there anything more beautiful
than the sweet satisfaction
shining on the face of a person
who cares and does so much good?

Then came to mind
 the sunrise, a thousand colors
in the sky above the sea



Then the dinner with my wife,
the teaching I had at noon
my breakfast outside.

I thank you my God
I thank you my God
I thank you my God

Some days, are filled with so much love and beauty. If before sleep, we reflect on our day, we enjoy twice :)
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and Poems by Aufie Zophy

Plato

Plato
All of us have heard about Plato.
Not many of us have read Plato, did we?

 Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Above is a quote from Plato.
I think it is a particularly wise quote!

Just now, I read a bit more of Plato's main and most famous work, the republic.
In book one, the ten first pages Socrates argues with his friend on what justice means.
His friend starts from the preposition that justice is to repay debt and that the debt you owe to your friends is good, to do good to them and that the debt you owe to your enemies is evil, to do evil to them. In just a few pages he breaks down the notion that a just man should do evil to his enemies and arrives at the conclusion that a just man should do only good to both friends and enemies. If you have time I invite you to read the argument (many copies of plato's full works are freely available on the net). It is written is such a pleasant way that I am sure you will enjoy: (Socrates talking in the first person)

Small moon poem

The moon above the sea

is touching my eyes softly

with the sweetest song,

my heart has ever heard

Keep singing, sweet moon,

your gentle voice coloring

the shore in delicate silver

behind a black crown of a tree


 

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Please visit also:  inspirational/motivational quotes from Hans

and Poems by Aufie Zophy

News and feelings

On the internet, in the news, on TV,
we read so many messages that upset us
that create some uneasy feelings of hatred.

Every bit of hatred we swallow and
every bit of hatred we make our own,
is a step back in the direction of the stone age.

I do not think we should stop reading all the news,
I do think that we should not swallow all the news,
not swallow all the hatred and disgust it intends to instill.

At the same time we do not want to be indifferent to the news.
But not allowing the hatred and disgust to enter does not mean
that we cannot practice compassion.
A compassionate approach to the news....

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Please visit also:  inspirational/motivational quotes from Hans
and Poems by Aufie Zophy

The story of the world and the tree

When we plant a tree, we want it to become a big tree.
We get this image in our mind of the place where it was planted,
being adorned with this huge nice wonderful tree with a big wide crown.

If we'd go every day to look at the tree, we will not see it growing.
But if we have not seen the tree for a long time, we will notice easily
that it has grown so much.

Now, where is the world in this story?
Here it is:

The world is getting better,
Every day the world is getting better, every year.
Exactly! Just like the tree is growing every day.

The number of peace loving people,
hungering for peace, fairness and happiness
for ALL in this world, is ever increasing.

If you look after a year or so, you may not see the difference.
If you look back a decade or a few decades, you may start to notice.
Look back a century, and you get this absolute certainty:
The world is turning into a better place to live in, fast.

Not just for the few wealthy (actually, many of them,
blinded by the fallacy that they have to protect and grow their wealth
and power at all cost, are losing out on peace  of mind, rather than gaining it!).

For all groups of people, life is getting better.
More and more people get to know their true nature:
the true nature of humans is that caring brings peace of mind,
kindness brings happiness, Love (the one with capital letter L)
is the key to a balanced life filled with fulfillment.

Every day the pool of good and kind people increases.
Just like a tree grows every day.
Once the tree has a big crown,
in spring it seems to explode
in young greenness and flowers,
Once we will reach a critical number of kind people,
the world will become overnight an oasis of love and peace.

Let us get all on this train of unconditional kindness now.
This will be to the world, like what rain and fertilizers mean to the tree.
Smile!

When the night falls

When the night falls,
My thoughts wander
to the sea of abundance
My ears listen to Tibetan music
My eyes dream of lakes and mountains
My heart visits the land of love
My soul swims in endless oceans of goodness

When the night falls,
When silence appears
When most people sleep,
my thoughts wander...
My eyes see smiles and happy faces
My ears hear chuckles and laughter
My soul sees the revolution of kindness

That huge revolution of kindness getting nearer and nearer
and nearer and nearer and nearer and nearer and nearer.
Soon all of us will see our true nature,
kindness everywhere, greed gone
my thoughts wander
a bit closer to a dream
but every new day, also
a bit closer to the upcoming reality.

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Bridging the night

An orange sun
shines from behind the trees
Soon it 'll be dark
but the sweet memories
of the orange light
adorning the beach and the sea,
will linger on 'till tomorrow morning

Oh, yes my friends,
nights do come, sometimes it is dark in our life.
but somehow we have a close to absolute certainty
that the next morn is never far away
that the memories of love
will shine on, no matter how dark.. :)


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Please visit also:  inspirational/motivational quotes from Hans
and Poems by Aufie Zophy

A bit of love

Imagine a sea,
a large sea;
no, imagine an ocean,
A huge ocean
filled with love.

Within that ocean
we swim and enjoy
its greatest depths
but so often we are not aware
we live in an ocean of love.

When sad or upset,
we can just inhale
or swallow a few gulps,
let a bit of that ocean
enter our hearts.

For family and strangers,
for friends and enemies,
just take a cup or two
and share a drink of love.

A bit of love, a few drops
is often all we need
to turn a dark moment
into a shining present.

A bit of love, a small cup
is often all we need
to turn a bout of stress
into an oasis of peace.

A bit of love, a sip or breath
is often all we need
to live a life of purpose,
to change the world.

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Please visit also:  inspirational/motivational quotes from Hans
and Small Prayers For a Big World (by Hans)
and Poems by Aufie Zophy

A sheep story

I came across the following fable:

" There was a magician who was also a shepherd. He had thousands of sheep to look after and he was a very miserly man so he didn’t want many servants and he didn’t want many watchmen. He did not want to pay anybody and he did not want his sheep to be lost or taken by the wolves. But it was very difficult for him to take care of all the sheep alone. He was very rich and he had many sheep.
So he played a trick on the sheep. He hypnotised them — he was a magician. He hypnotised them and told every sheep, ‘You are not a sheep. Don’t be afraid.’ To some he said, ‘You are a lion.’ To some he said, ‘You are tigers.’ To some he even said, ‘You are men. Nobody is going to kill you. Don’t be afraid and don’t try to escape from here.’
The sheep started believing in his hypnosis. Every day he would butcher a few sheep but the others would think, ‘We are not sheep. He is butchering only sheep. We are lions, we are tigers, we are wolves, we are this and that…’ even that they were men. Some were even told that they were magicians — and they believed it. It was always some sheep which was to be butchered. They remained aloof, distant. They were not worried. And by and by they were all butchered."

Initially I thought I loved a man who was a magician and a shepherd. What a nice combination! As I read about his miserliness, I loved him less and as he cheated and butchered the sheep I started even to hate him. However this story is not about the magician, not about the shepherd. It is about the sheep. We allow our human friends to die of hunger, to be exploited and we feel they are living in a far away country, they are the poor who did not want to work, the lazy ones. We are lulled into these beliefs that they are far from us and it is not our responsibility to help. They are our brothers, our fellow sheep and we have all responsibility to help them in every way we can.

After reading the story, immediately after reading it, I felt disgusted.
But as I let the deep lesson contained in the story sink in, 
I started to appreciate the wisdom inside so much that decided to share it on this blog.


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Please visit also:  inspirational/motivational quotes from Hans
and Small Prayers For a Big World (by Hans)
and Poems by Aufie Zophy

Demagogue

If a demagogue like Hitler can become the fuhrer
and convince clever Germans about an abominable lie
called hatred,

why would a "demagogue" of kindness not be able
to convince the whole wide world about a fantastic truth
called love?

In 2017, we still have human trafficking
In 2017, we still have drug barons
In 2017, we still have vicious bankers
In 2017, we still have wicked politicians
In 2017, we still have massive corruption

And yet,
In 2017, the truth about love is out there
In 2017, the truth about integrity is out there
In 2017, the truth about kindness is out there
In 2017, the truth about humility is out there
In 2017, the truth about honesty is out there.

It is all out there for all to see
It is all out there for anyone to understand
it is all out there for anyone to experience
the giant truth that love, integrity, kindness,
humility, honesty are the true and only
sources of happiness, true happiness, peace of mind

It is all out there for all to see
how wicked traffickers of humans or drugs,
corrupt bankers and politicians are nothing
but fake smiles and tarnished consciences

The truth is becoming stonger
The lies are becoming weaker

Dear friends,
try to connect to your souls
try to feel the nearness of a world filled with love and kindness.
It will NOT take many years before we will see a kindness revolution,
a wisdom revolution taking place.

A "demagogue" of truth
A "demagogue" of kindness
A "demagogue" of love
will convince all of us,
ALL of us

and soon ALL will see the truth:
Love brings happiness
kindness brings peace of mind
Wisdom is the highest longing.

The truth of love and honesty

versus

The lies of hatred and deception.

Soon there will be a clear winner!

and I know which one will win  

You know which one will win

Everyone knows!

All we need to do, is to look deep in our soul 


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Please visit also:  inspirational/motivational quotes from Hans
and Small Prayers For a Big World (by Hans)
and Poems by Aufie Zophy