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

Dragonflies

Dragonflies come in swarms.

They hatch in clear water

and spend most of their life (9-10 months)

 as larvae inside clear water.

Then they come out of the water

and live another 1 to two months as

adult dragon flies.

They have 4 wings

with muscles controlling

each wing independently,

allowing them to rotate their wings

and flap in different planes

they can hover and then move forward

and make very sharp turns

Today, after I met the wonderful swarm of dragonflies near the beach, I googled 'dragonfly' to know a bit more about its amazing flying capacity. I came across so many legends and myths about the dragonfly, from luck bringers to representing the devil. Others saw in them ghosts and souls of ancestors.

I think they are very special creatures. They were already around in the times of the dinosaurs. I try to avoid the superstition but looking at their incredible movements, it is not hard to understand that people have been giving incredible powers to them and created legends and myths about them.

Next time, I see a swarm of dragonflies, I think I will love them a bit more, or at least in a different way, after all the amazing scientific and non-scientific things I read about them today.

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and Small Prayers For a Big World (by Hans)

and Poems by Aufie Zophy

Driftwood

Driftwood

Broken off

Died, drifting for days

Washed ashore

Largely ignored.

But then if we look,

look a bit closer

God has given to it

 wonderful colors...

Let us think for awhile about driftwood

What lesson it can teach us in our own life :)


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and Poems by Aufie Zophy

Nano

Spending some time in nature can work wonders to our own heart, body, mind and soul. All goodness from the universe seems to flow in and the love stored in our heart, so often hidden to the outside world, but connected to an inexhaustible source, suddenly opens up. I hope you enjoy the little piece below:

Some nano-molecules of joy

have entered my heart this morning

while I was cleaning a bit of my garden

Some nano-molecules of peace 

have entered my mind this morning

when I saw and heard some beautiful birds

The nano-molecules of joy and peace

initiated a chain reaction of love 

All love hidden inside, suddenly bared


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and Small Prayers For a Big World (by Hans)
and Poems by Aufie Zophy

A piece of peace

Tall trees, blue skies,
a bit of peace within my reach.
I take it in my arms,
breathe it in, deeply in.

I bring it to my heart
to the cortex of my mind
to the center of my soul
and my muscles relax

I get a bit of inspiration
a bit of enthusiasm
I write a small piece.
A bit happier than before.

:)



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and Poems by Aufie Zophy

Who can stop you?

"If you want to be served,
people may not serve you.

But if you want to serve,
who can stop you?

If you want to be loved,
people may not love you.

But if you want to give love,
who can stop you?

If you want to be respected
people may not give you respect

But if you want to respect others
who can stop you?"

(quote from Gaul Ghopal Das)

I just saw this incredible inspirational video on the internet.
It was about the "I"

We concentrate often so much on what we want
on how we want to be served, loved and respected,
but all too often we get frustrated because people
do not live to serve, love and respect us.

What a different world it becomes if we start to focus
on how we can help the other, how can we serve, love and respect.
it becomes a different game all together and we will not be frustrated.
The love and respect, this time we did not expect,
will flow over us from all sides.

There is a tremendous truth in the paradox:
it is in giving that we receive :)

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and Small Prayers For a Big World (by Hans)

and Poems by Aufie Zophy

Within the vaults of your heart

Within the deep vaults of your loving heart

Within the blue ocean of your amazing memory

Within the soft magic light of your sparkling soul

There is a poetic truth, waiting to be expressed.

A soft truth, that can change the world:

' cause it 'll be simple inspirational truth
that will take away the greed;
that will take away the lies.

So please my friends, dig within the vault of your heart;

swim and dive within the ocean of your memories;

bathe and enjoy the light of the flames of your soul

and express that truth, share it with the rest of the world.

Dig, swim, bathe in the truth within

talk, write, share and express

and enjoy all goodness

The world needs you.

Imagine world peace,
Kindness, wisdom, love,
forever and ever and ever 

It depends on you!

The sun and the cave

This morning, I read the following powerful story and I do not want to wait another minute to share it with you all:

One day, the sun and a cave were talking to each other. The sun did not understand "dark and damp" and the cave did not understand what it meant by "bright and clear". So they decided to change places for awhile. First the cave went up to the sun and exclaimed: "Oh, how wonderful this all is!". Then they went to the place of the cave and as the sun entered, it said "I cannot see any difference!"

I think this story is 'soooo' powerful!

If you are the one emitting the light and warmth,

    it is quite impossible to experience the dark and cold.

If you are the one emitting peace of mind and serenity

    it is quite impossible to be disturbed and stressed

If you are the one bringing happiness to others

    it is quite impossible to be sad for a long time.

If you are the one bringing inspiration and encouragement

     you may never end up in the drab and gloom

A Big Verb

I 'll remember always the story from Stephen Covey.
He ran a practice for therapy and a man came and said:
"Doc, I do not love my wife anymore"
And Stephen said: Why do you not love her anymore?
Man: "I don't know"
Stephen: Well love her again.
Man: "I just told you I do not feel love for her anymore"
Stephen: Love is a verb.
To love somebody is to do loving things for that somebody.
If you love, do loving things, invariably the feeling follows.
If we stop loving, stop doing loving things, the feeling will go.
So just start to love her and your problem will be solved.
We can always (or almost always) choose what we do.
and as such also indirectly choose what we feel :)

Isn't that just a wonderful story?
 

PS: this story was also the basis for a message i posted in this blog last year

Abundance

Waves of enchanting orange morning light

Broke on the shore of sand so white

The sea, colored by it in pastel, wonderfully,

Whispered to the sun, a bit angrily:

“Hey, this is MY shore, to break my waves

Please, dear sun, take back your wavy rays”

The sun, smiling a warm, kind smile at once

Explained with love, the principle of abundance

Of everything created, God gives more than enough

We can truly share all things on earth with love