Precious Wisdoms
Consider No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Never give it. – Eleanor RooseveltThis video’s quote also inspired Succeed and Soar’s October 23, 2021 post titled, “Bullies.” View here. * These special posts offer a little video, often less than five minutes. Some are selected to inspire. Some to amaze. Some to fascinate, even shock. All are chosen to fulfill Succeed and Soar’s mission: To lift the heart and spirit, our awareness and humanity. Of this Wise Quotes video, the producer says, A good quote can offer a lifetime of experience in a simple sentence or statement. They are lessons forged through the overcoming of obstacles and set backs that are passed on to others like a baton in a relay race. They say, “here’s what I learned, now use it and go even further.” Viewers said, i could listen to this again, and again, and again. stills my mind. thank you This video is like a breath of fresh air! Thank you for the dose of motivation. Succeed and Soar! Click Here to View. or cut and paste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wQLflDq-yU Wise Quotes 4 minutes, 32 seconds. See Succeed and Soar’s beautiful, inspiring posters. Poster Info Sizes from 8”x6.5” to the popular 30” x 23.5” Four Shape Options: Natural, Vertical, Horizontal and Square Printed on acid-free paper with archival inks Includes 1” white border to allow for future framing and mounting Shop All Collections HERE. www.SandrasArt.Pixels.com Thanks for your support!
Spring Tune Up
Consider Your body has natural healing capacities that nobody in the field of medicine can pretend ultimately to understand. – Wayne Dyer First, definitely print this colorful, one-page “8 Easy Tips for a Healthy Spring” Part of preparing for spring can include a detox. Why? Relive Everyday says that this season of new growth can be a great time, “to reset your own microbiome,” the world of microbes in the body that fight germs, digest food, produce vitamins and more. This tune up can also, Fix urinary problems caused by eating things that strain the kidneys [especially meals with salty and processed foods] Improve focus and clear mind fog Energize the disease-fighting lympathic system Open sinuses clogged by spring-time allergies Read more [including Do’s and Don’ts] What should part of the body’s Spring Tune Up? Redbook recommends these super foods: Arugula because this peppery salad green is, “high in phytonutrients that may reduce cancer risk and lower inflammation in the body.” Artichokes because they have lots, of nutrition, including 7 grams of gut-healthy fiber, potassium, vitamin C, folate, magnesium, and cell-protective phytochemicals.” Rhubarb is a good source of potassium and manganese. Rhubarb also contains vitamin K and calcium, which together are necessary for healthy bones.” [Eat the stalks; not the leaves because they contain oxalic acid which can cause breathing difficulty, kidney stones, even coma and more.] Pineapple because it lowers cholesterol, reduces free radicals and is anti-inflammatory. Pineapple can also ease sore throat, gout, and bronchitis symptoms. Here are eleven more of Redbook’s spring superfoods. Here are 16 Foods that Taste Better in Spring, including fresh berries, new potatoes, asparagus and mint. Yum! And here are some great, springtime recipes from Eating Well, like, 22 Spinach & Mushroom Recipes Perfect for Spring 16 Spring Sandwich Recipes 16 Sheet Pan Recipes for April Enjoy. Foods for Healthy Spring Refresh Click Here to View Length: 3 Minutes, 29 Seconds COMMENT Shop Beautiful, Inspiring, Succeed & Soar Posters Sizes from 8”x6.5” to the popular 30” x 23.5” Four Shape Options: Natural, Vertical, Horizontal and Square Printed on acid-free paper with archival inks Includes 1” white border to allow for future framing and mounting View All Posters Thanks for shopping!
Your Heroic Heart #1 – Debut
Updated March 30, 2024 The “Heroic Hearts” series is inspired by Succeed and Soar’s August 21, 2021 post. There, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time.” Heroes are the ones who inspire us to be better, to do better, to live better. – Anonymous In 1904, Andrew Carnegie created a Deed of Trust that began,We live in a heroic age. Not seldom are we thrilled by deeds of heroism where men or women are injured or lose their lives in attempting to preserve or rescue their fellows; such the heroes of civilization. … I have long felt that the heroes and those dependent upon them should be freed from pecuniary cares resulting from their heroism, and, as a fund for this purpose, I have transferred to the Commission five million dollars of First Collateral Five Per Cent. Bonds of the United States Steel Corporation. One hundred twenty years later — with a cumulative inflation of over 3,000 percent — Carnegie would have launched the fund with $173,267,977.43. The first honoree was Louis A. Baumann, Jr. who was 17 when Charles Stevick called for help while drowning in an abandoned farm’s deep ravine. The record reads, Baumann immediately dived into the pond, but when he reached Charles, Charles grabbed his leg. Baumann broke free and returned to the bank to regain his breath. He swam back out and dived for Charles, then took him to the surface, but Charles again grabbed Baumann, and both submerged. Again Baumann broke free and returned to the bank. A third time he swam out to Charles, that time managing to get Charles close enough to the bank for the other boys, who formed a chain, to drag both from the water. All survived. On August 9, 2007, Connecticut State Trooper Nicholas P. Leary rescued a woman from a burning building in Danielson, Massachusetts, without either the training or equipment. After crawling into the woman’s burning bedroom, she was rescued as flames breached the apartment’s walls. Leary donated the financial grant that accompanied the Carnegie Medal to The Jimmy Fund of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brookline, Massachusetts. ‘Hero’ comes from ancient words meaning demi [half, unfinished, almost]-god and to watch over, to protect. This definition means we can all be heroes, often. Imagine a world where everyone performed such a deed daily. Not much is required. A Random Act of Kindness as in the video below will do. What a life! How will you become a hero each day? Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. COMMENT. A Random Acts of Kindness Click Here to View [90 seconds] In this ABC News “America Strong” with David Muir that aired February 20, 2024, see how Dollar Store pajamas turned a school bus driver into a hero. This Month, Shop Inspiring Succeed & Soar Posters Sizes from 8”x6.5” to the popular 30” x 23.5” Four Shape Options: Natural, Vertical, Horizontal and Square Printed on acid-free paper with archival inks Includes 1” white border to allow for future framing and mounting View All Posters Thanks for shopping!
Authors Speak & Daughters of the Stone
Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. ~ Frederick Douglass Authors Speak This Succeed and Soar series invites writers to answer questions about their artforms and special inspirations. Welcome Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa. Photograph [c] 2017 LaToya Ruby Frazier Sandra at Homewood Branch, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Ms. Llanos-Figueroa, what phrase inspires your writing and life? “Write what should not be forgotten.” Isabel Allende How have Allende’s words helped your writing, your life? I write historical fiction about 19th century plantation society in Puerto Rico because I could never find myself in the stories I was given to read. I wanted to give the people in my life faces and voices that were denied to them in this society. I wanted to substitute authenticity and truth for the stereotype and caricature that were projected in the media. Silence and erasure are forms of genocide. I hope that my work opens the door and presents a clear and present image of the diversity that is the fabric of America. How these words inspired Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa’s book Daughters of the Stone. Daughters of the Stone, the first book in the series, follows the lives of enslaved Africans from the perspective of five generations of Afro-Puerto Rican women. Their journey begins with capture in West Africa, to life in plantation society Puerto Rico, to immigration to urban America. Sample Text: These are the stories. My stories, their stories — just as they were told to my mother and her mother and hers. They were given to me for safekeeping and now I give them to you. Amazon Review Daughters of the Stone is available at Bookshop.org , local independent bookstores and major online book retailers. Meet the Author Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa writes historical fiction about the Afro-Puerto Rican experience from capture in West Africa to life in 19th century plantation society in Puerto Rico to urban New York City. Daughters of the Stone and A Woman of Endurance are her first two published novels.. Web Site: www.dahlmallanosfigueroa.com Follow on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest @DahlmaLlanosFigueroa Twitter @writer1949 https://www.facebook.com/DaughtersoftheStone/ Photo Credit: Matvey Zabbi Photography Keep in mind, Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary. – Jim Rohn COMMENT. This Month, Warm Body, Mind and Spirit with Coffee Mugs from Succeed & Soar’s “Eleanor’s Insights” Collection. Visit the Eleanor’s Insights posts. Mugs are: Ceramic Dishwasher and microwave safe Available in two sizes [11 ounce and 15 ounce] See All Mugs Shop All Art and Collections HERE. Thanks for your support!
Clearing Congestion
Consider Instead of seeing organic food as an expense, view it as an investment in your health and a donation towards a safer and better world. — Source Unknown After “a dark and stormy night” traveling last week, I woke with sinuses and lungs become mucus-generating machines. Thanks goodness I’d stockpiled a Costco-case of Kleenex. I’ve never had such tsunamis of, well, expectorant flooding from nose and throat. Goodness! Meanwhile, swaddled in flannel and bundled beneath quilts, I searched Donna Cunningham’s Flower Remedies Handbook for a flower a short story character might plant. Mullein seemed a good choice because it’s for January birthdays and is believed to repel evil spirits. I read that “… monasteries grew it to keep negativity away and stuffed it in pillows to guard against nightmares.” To make sure mullein looked like a flower this character would plant, I learned that–while way too tall–mullein contains “flavonoids and saponins with proven anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antihypertensive properties.” Very Well Health also reports that mullein has traditionally been used for ear aches, healing burns and wounds and diarrhea as well as lung and respiratory problems like coughs and colds, asthma, hoarseness and bronchitis. In “How Mullein Benefits Your Lungs,” the Cleveland Clinic writes that the plant [a member of the snap dragon family], Loosens mucus Calms inflammation Protects cells, and Fights germs. Read more Further, mullein blooms in almost any soil. It’s flowers attract bees and butterflies. Here’s “How to Grow and Care for Mullein.” More Information While researching lung health and mullein, these videos were found: Understanding the Lungs and How to Clear the Lungs – 05:39, — Great. In showing how the lungs work and how to keep them healthy. This video is definitely worth a look. Easy to Make & Healthy Mullein Tea – 07:22 Grow Your Own Toilet Paper [a/k/a Mullein] – 08:58, What an amazing world. How & Why to Make Mullein Infusions Click Here to View Length: 7 Minutes COMMENT This Month, Warm Body, Mind and Spirit with Coffee Mugs from Succeed and Soar’s “Eleanor’s Insights” Collection. Visit the Eleanor’s Insights posts. Mugs are: Ceramic Dishwasher and microwave safe Available in two sizes [11 ounce and 15 ounce] See All Mugs Shop All Collections HERE. Thanks for your support!
The Wish Granter
Consider Til I loved, I never lived — enough. — Emily Dickinson These special posts offer a little video, often less than five minutes. Some are selected to inspire. Some to amaze. Some to fascinate, even shock. All are chosen to fulfill Succeed and Soar’s mission: To lift the heart and spirit, our awareness and humanity. For Valentine’s week, please enjoy this charming, Oscar-nominated story. While viewing, imagine applying for this character’s job: Wish Granter. Time to smile! Click Here to View. The Wish Granter 4 minutes, 49 seconds. This Month, Warm Your Body, Mind and Spirit with Coffee Mugs from Succeed & Soar ‘s “Eleanor’s Insights” Collection. Visit the “Eleanor’s Insights” posts. Mugs are: Ceramic Dishwasher and microwave safe Available in two sizes [11 ounce and 15 ounce] See All Mugs Shop All Collections HERE. Thanks for your support!
2024 Beyond the Sky’s Limits 4, Journeys
It’s easier to invent the future than to predict it. ― Alan Kay * How high is the sky? On August 16, 1960, Joe Kittinger rode a balloon to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. Up there, where the temperature is -94 degrees Fahrenheit yet blood would boil, he stepped off the platform and plunged 102,800 feet, twice as high as jetliners flew. His speed: 614 miles per hour, approached the sound barrier. Earth’s atmosphere extends 6,200 miles above the planet. After that, the atmosphere blends into space. In jumping from over 19 miles above the Earth, Kittinger reached beyond the sky’s limits. Fifty-two years later, he helped Felix Baumgartner repeat that experience. Watch Joe Kittinger’s jump [3 minutes]. The theme for this fourth of four “Beyond the Sky’s Limits” posts is, “Travel.” Photographs from my “SkyScapes Gallery” accompany this series. Here are five favorite quotes, All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. — Martin Buber It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. — Ursula K. LeGuin A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles. – Tim Cahill Not all those who wander are lost. — J.R.R. Tolkien We too can be pioneers. Not by opening up vast new geographic frontiers, but rather, by finding more thoughtful ways to approach those already discovered. — Sven-Olaf Lindblad Succeed and Soar! SkyScapes Pouches Organize travels and carry possessions safe and secure in these unique and beautiful wallets. Details: Three sizes: Small 6” x 4” , Medium 9.5” x 6” and Large 12.5” x 8.5” Crafted with 100% poly-poplin fabric Double-stitched at seams for extra durability Durable metal zipper Visit All Zippered Pouches Thanks for shopping!
2024 Beyond the Sky’s Limits 3, Laughter
The way to cope with the future is to create it. — Ilya Prigogine This four-part, “Beyond the Sky’s Limits” series was created because, years ago, I read of a man who led cloud-gazing expeditions, When pausing to study them. I found symphonies without sounds, stories without words and marvelous beauty in cloud shapes and colors, in how they gather and separate, tumble and sail. Photographs from my my “SkyScapes Gallery.” accompany this series. Here are quotes that remind of laughter’s beauty, The sound of laughter is like the vaulted dome of a temple of happiness. -Milan Kundera You grow up on the day you have your first real laugh at yourself. – Ethel Barrymore 1879-1959 A good laugh is as good as a prayer sometimes. -L.M. Montgomery Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away. — Benjamin Franklin All you need in the world is love and laughter. That’s all anybody needs. To have love in one hand and laughter in the other. — August Wilson Succeed and Soar! SkyScapes Throw Pillows Decorate in beautiful style. Relax in lovely comfort. Details: Fabric: 100% spun polyester poplin Reversible, same image printed on both sides A concealed zipper Choice of over 70 background colors Removable insert can be requested Pillow sizes: 14×14, 16×16, 18×18, 20×20, 26×26 and 20×14 See All Throw Pillows Thanks for shopping!
2024 Beyond the Sky’s Limits 2, Wealth
You cannot predict the future, but you can create it. — Peter Drucker The atmosphere, the gas layers around Earth, is very short. NASA explains that if our planet were a basketball, “the atmosphere could be …a thin sheet of plastic wrapped around the ball.” Sunlight colors those gases, usually blue during the day. This December dawn was awesome red. When the sun can’t color the sky, we see much further, the Milky Way and its glittering stars. Here’s why. This “Beyond the Sky’s Limits” series features photographs from my “SkyScapes Gallery.” For decades, I’ve collected uplifting, inspiring, motivating quotes. Here are five favorites about wealth, Wealth after all is a relative thing since he that has little and wants less is richer than he that has much and wants more. –Charles Caleb Colton The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away. –Marcus Aurelius The fact remains that the overwhelming majority of people who have become wealthy have become so thanks to work they found profoundly absorbing…. The long term study of people who eventually become wealthy clearly reveals that their “Luck” arose from the accidental dedication they had to an area they enjoyed. –Srully Blotnick He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. –Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu Money, pardon the expression, is like manure. It’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around, encouraging young things to grow. — Hello Dolly! Musical Succeed and Soar! SkyScapes Metal Prints Bring artwork to life while decorating with stylish lines and depth Details Image printed directly on 1/16” thick aluminum Select sizes from 6″x8″ to 30″x 40″ Aluminum print offset from wall by ¾” thick wood frame attached to back The high-gloss aluminum compliments rich colors with stunning results See All Metal Prints Thanks for shopping!
2024 Beyond the Sky’s Limits 1, Dreams
The best way to predict the future is to create it. — credited to Abraham Lincoln * For decades, I’ve collected uplifting, motivating quotes. In 2019, Succeed and Soar allowed me to share them, illustrated with evocative images. The theme for the first of this “Beyond the Sky’s Limits” series is Dreams. As a Disney commercial sings, “A dream is a wish your heart makes.” Many believe our hearts can be our best guides. Photographs from my “SkyScapes Gallery” accompany this series. Here are quotes about dreams I’ve cherished for years, * Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil. — James Allen All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible. — T. E. Lawrence Hope is a waking dream. — Aristotle If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse. — Walt Disney The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do. — Sarah Ban Breathnach Succeed and Soar! COMMENT. SkyScapes Journals Record your dreams, hopes, plans and achievements in these beautiful, inspiring notebooks. Details: 6” x 8, spiral notebook 120 pages, ruled on both sides Art printed on front Cover is thick paper stock. Back cover is medium gray Inside front and back covers have pockets for storing extra paper and pens View All Notebooks Thanks for shopping!