Einstein 22: Your Awesome, Big Picture
A human being is part of a whole called by us the universe. – Albert Einstein Savor the following marvels about who you are and your glorious possibilities: “We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out.” Neil deGrasse Tyson Read More. “When we look out into space we are looking into our own origins because we are truly children of the stars.” Source Unknown Read more. “The world would have you agree with its dismal dream of limitation. But the light would have you soar like the eagle of your sacred visions.” – Alan Cohen More “A person is neither a thing nor a process but an opening through which the Absolute can manifest.” – Martin Heidegger More With these awesome thoughts, Succeed & Soar’s Einstein Inspirations series ends [and can be revisited here.]. Hope you’ve enjoyed. For the past month, I’ve considered taking a posting break. Aah! But there are so many wonderful wisdoms and images to share. So, this summer Succeed and Soar will deliver quick delights chosen to lift hearts and spirits, awareness and humanity. Blessings & best wishes, Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire Shop “Gorgeous Green,” this week’s Featured Art. This Post’s Featured Video A Super Special Weekend Saturday, June 19: Juneteenth We also don’t want people to think it’s a Black thing, or a Texas thing because it’s not. None of us are free until we’re all free. And we aren’t free yet. – Opal Lee, Grandmother of Juneteenth Read more. The holiday’s name encompasses the week required for word to cross Texas that the United States had ended Chattel Slavery and for celebrations with music, games, parades and red soft drinks to begin. Check out: How to Celebrate Juneteenth Earliest Juneteenth Celebrations Pittsburgh Juneteenth Observances 50 Companies observing Juneteenth and investing in social equality Sunday, June 20 Father’s Day Sometimes, we need to father ourselves as well. Here are precious ways. Summer Solstice When Earth’s north pole is tilted farthest from the sun [at 11:32 pm EDT], the northern hemisphere enjoys its longest day [remember to enjoy strawberries]. ******* Sandra’s Greeting Cards Keep in touch with family and friends beautifully! My greeting cards will send smiles across the miles. Say thank you, share something funny, send birthday wishes and let folks know you’re thinking of them. My greeting cards, Measure 5” x 7” large enough to frame Made of chlorine- and acid-free, archival-quality 120 lb. premium cardstock Available in matte or glossy finish Professionally printed Sold in set of 10 or 20 with white envelopes Produced in compliance with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Made in USA Twelve images from my galleries are currently offered [selections change]. Support Succeed and Soar. Shop today. Join Succeed & Soar Mail List
Einstein Wisdom 21: Coincidences
Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous. – Albert Einstein Coincidences are events and circumstances, accidents, serendipity and twists of fate that connect in remarkable ways. The most common are: Thinking of calling someone and they unexpectedly call Knowing who’s calling without checking the phone screen or hearing a personalized ring tone Thinking of an idea then hearing or seeing it on the radio, television or internet Read more Carl Jung called meaningful coincidences ‘synchronicity.’ They’re related events that have no natural connection. Have you experienced a coincidence that linked you to someone for whom you care deeply though thousands of miles apart? Have you walked or driven somewhere you needed to be without understanding why, like turning right instead of left for no reason and avoiding an accident? What if these experiences are as Einstein suggests? What a magical world. What amazing lives life makes possible. Here’s how to use and create more coincidences. By the way, next week offers lots of tasty observances: Monday June 14 if National Strawberry Shortcake Day Wednesday is National Fudge Day. Thursday, the 17th is time to celebrate Apple Strudels and Cherry Tarts. Enjoy! Shop “Sunflower,” this week’s Featured Art . Featured Video ***** Because I’ve long been concerned about the quality of existence, I’ve noticed how people protect life after human hearts start beating, which can last decades. As many debate Pro Life-Pro Choice issues, remember abort means to terminate prematurely, to interfere with development and/or to stop before completion. As we seek ways to succeed and soar, shouldn’t our goal be to protect humans from abortion at all stages, whatever the age, whenever-wherever people’s hearts are beating? Image Source: PNGTree
Einstein 20: Awesome Quiet
The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. – Albert Einstein This Tuesday, June 8 is Best Friends Day . On “Bestie” Day, why not make a three-hour, exclusive date with your BFF [Best Friend Forever]: You! The special date with yourself could include walks, a lovely meal, stroll through a museum and contemplating beautiful, natural settings as in this week’s awesome Featured Video [try to view on a desktop screen]. A precious part of these three hours is that you can shed expectations and agendas. Research has shown that those who allow themselves quiet time are better able to problem solve, get along with others and are freer from depression. Read more. Best Friends Day was started to show the most important people and pets in our lives just how much we adore them, and to memorialize those beloved best friends that are no longer by our sides. To honor that day, here are 10 inspiring ways to be a better friend. This Post’s Special Video **** Because I’m so concerned about conditions in this country, this Food for Thought is offered. Once upon a time, some believed that if the wealthiest paid fewer taxes, the money they kept would flow in ways that helped everyone. Human nature being what it is, the past thirty years have shown that Trickle Down economics has been a money boomerang. The wealthiest have used the income they kept to make themselves richer [see chart below]. Read more. In 1944, those with stratospheric earnings paid 94% of their income in federal taxes. Imagine the condition of this country’s dilapidated schools, roads, health care, educational resources and other troubling conditions if those making millions and billions a year were taxed as they were during the 1940s and 1950s. Remember, taxes are how local, state and the federal government provide services and protect citizens. Consider: Perhaps the concern with taxes should not be the amount but ROI [Return on Investment], how taxes are spent to keep citizens safe, well educated, healthy, pay government salaries and expenses, and improve everyone’s Quality of Life. Graphics reprinted with permission from EconomicsHelp.org. Blessings & best wishes, Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire
Einstein 18: You, The Great Teacher
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. – Albert Einstein The one time I met Great Aunt Hattie [she married my grandfather’s brother Jesse], that big woman with her sunshine brightness taught me about generous spirits. When my dad refused her money and wouldn’t buy my sister and I small fruit pies, she scoffed affectionately and told him to go on down to the corner store and get her little grand nieces those treats. Yeah!! My mother’s older sister Irene loved to throw Saturday night Pokeno parties with rich treats she shared from homes where she worked in wealthier neighborhoods. Hospitality!! Funny, the things children remember. I’m so glad to have been educated by ladies who awakened joy in special kinds of creative expression and knowledge of big-hearted spirits. After all, we’re all teachers, all the time. Shop “Raindrops,” this week’s Featured Art Featured Video ***** Sunday, May 23rd is World Turtle Day, a special time to protect turtles, tortoises and their homes. Did you know that while all tortoises are turtles, not all turtles are tortoises. Although both animals are encased in bony shells and lay eggs, a few big differences include: Tortoises cannot swim. Their heavy, dome-shaped shells would sink them. Turtles are water animals with lighter, more aerodynamic shells. Tortoises have stubby, elephant-like legs. Turtle legs are webbed and can even be flippers, all designed for swimming. Surprising facts about turtles
Einstein 17: Opportunities
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. – Albert Einstein While in the Pacific Northwest, I learned to make flower essences and that some plants have helpful energies. In this belief system: Heartsease provides gentle comfort and solace for a broken heart. Bleeding Hearts vibrations release the pain of broken relationships. Self-Heal is a mint whose name means, “that with which one may cure oneself without the help of a surgeon.” Snapdragons slay harsh and negative speech patterns. One of my most inspiring flowers is the Black-Eyed Susan. With its sun-gold petals radiating from a dark center, this perennial visually and beautifully expresses this week’s Einstein wisdom, that from life’s shadows, brightness can bloom. BTW, this flower discussion is not meant to replace medical advice but to offer fresh insights. As I was taught, flower essences have subtle, gradual and enduring effects. Use should be guided by those with substantial understanding of the practice. Read more about healing with flowers. Blessings & best wishes. Special Days This Week May 18th is No Dirty Dishes Day. Here are ways thesyndromemag suggests avoiding dirty dishes. Eat finger foods over the sink. Pour cereal and milk straight into your mouth. Read more. The 20th is National Be a Millionaire Day, a great time to pretend to be a millionaire or start working to become one. Here are 50 Ways to Become a Millionaire Fast Featured Video Keep in Mind This coming Tuesday is Primary Election day in my County, which means we’re choosing who will decide how we live. This ballot also has a lot of referendums. I recently learned that of the 39 candidates running for the judge, the Bar Association considers some Highly Qualified to decide how our laws are enforced while others are Unqualified. Wherever you vote, keep in mind, anyone can get themselves on ballots then run marketing campaigns with nice slogans and attractive images that can be as misleading as ads promoting the benefits of cigarette smoking in the 1950s. Here are ways to make sure you know who and what you’re voting for: How to Judge a Candidate Vote 411
Einstein 16: Your Miracles
There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can life as if everything is a miracle. – Albert Einstein When an eleven year old’s handmade harp was stolen, the police searched. A CBS TV news story aired. Nothing worked until an odd conversation effected the girl’s mother so much that Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer, a psychoanalyst and UC-Berkeley professor, wrote Extraordinary Knowing. The book shares stories of people who knew things they shouldn’t have and scientific support for paranormal phenomena like telepathy, clairvoyance and the power of prayer. See “6 Stories To Make You Believe in Miracles.” Have you experienced unusual, improbable events that helped, a/k/a miracles? What if you can make your own? Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success opened me to the idea that intentions create destiny. Napoleon Hill proposed the same in Think and Grow Rich and Louise Hay in Heal Your Body. Nine hundred years ago, Rumi said, “Live as though life is rigged in your favor.” [Here are five more of Arianna Huffington’s favorite quotes from Thrive. I really like the Cherokee grandfather story.] What if expectations can shape fate? Jim Rohn said, “A piece of the miracle process has been reserved for each of us.” If so, how can we claim our pieces? See: Make Your Own Miracles in Seven Steps How to create more miracles in your life Blessings & best wishes! ***** Mother’s Day Sunday, May 9, 2021 According to MountainTrek.com, the word ‘mother’ can be a verb [‘to mother’]. So, Mother’s Day can also be a time to remember to nurture and nourish ourselves. First, through playfulness. Here are more tips. Clean Your Room Day Monday, May 10, 2021 Here’s another way to do some self mothering, and here are 13 Bedroom Cleaning Hacks, beginning starting at the top of the room. Ever wonder how rainbows happen? Why rainbows are curved? What’s at the end of rainbows? Here are the answers. * Shop “Rose Bouquet,” this week’s Featured Art .
Einstein 15: Understanding Everything
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein Some years ago, I spent a month at Dorland Mountain Arts, a creative space without electricity [marvelous!]. During a walk in the Temecula, California hills, fire ants climbed onto my shoes and up my legs, biting and burning all the way. After handling that situation, I was admiring the white clouds and bright blue sky when the narrow path turned. Fortunately, I looked down just before stepping off the mountain. My nature walks ended when advised to be noisy to avoid surprising bears and to carry an air horn as well as make myself look as big as possible should a mountain lion approach. I loved Dorland, the people and world around it. I grew as a human being and hope to return one day. Because on Earth [here’s a fascinating photo], predation is essential, I wonder if Einstein meant that to ‘look deep into nature’ should remind that life requires care and attention. Life here offers real dangers to body, mind, heart and spirit. That said, and in negotiating the world’s hazards, Anthony D’Angelo offers heartwarming advice, “Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.” May 1st is May Day, a great time to find a maypole, dance in the sunshine and enjoy spring’s first flowers, especially in this post’s video. Shop “Shasta Daisies,” this week’s Featured Art. Blessings & best wishes What kind of flower are you? Take this QUIZ. ***** Deadliest Quiz In considering Einstein’s advice to “look deep into nature,” keep in mind it can be both delightful and deadly. How many human lives are lost each year to these animals? Be careful! Alligators Kill 1, 15, 50 people per year Sharks kill 5, 50, 100 people per year Ants kill 10, 20, 30, 40 people per year Deer kill 17, 38, 65, 130 people per year Humans kill 475,00 other humans per year. Mosquitoes kill twice as many. Elephants, Hippopotami, Wolves, even Horses kill quite a few people each year. Here are the top 24 deadliest animals to humans [including quiz answers].
Einstein #14: Yes. You Are A Genius.
Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – Albert Einstein Years ago, a psychologist taught my class that IQ scores were based on exams taken by people near universities. Traditional intelligence tests measured what those populations understood. But folks from other backgrounds have smarts [genius] that could be a different as, say, how salmon and squirrels would answer right-or-wrong questions about trees, sky, nuts and nostrils. Thank goodness, as Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.” Oprah Winfrey agreed when saying, “I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint.” In Latin gen became the root of the verb gignere, “beget, produce.” In Roman times, genius meant spirit guides and guardian angels which the world needs now, especially yours. Especially on National Super Hero Day, April 28. Here’s how to celebrate. Here’s How to Find Your Hidden Genius. Shop “Pink Lily,” this week’s Featured Art . Blessings & best wishes Smarty Pants Quiz In thinking about genius, here are some smarty pants questions from Brain Storms, The Smart Thinking Game: Maurice the bull has just swallowed a time bomb that’s going off in five minutes. Which of these four words best describes the situation: Awful, Abominable, Dreadful, or Shocking? Wendy has cats. All but two are Siamese, all but two are Persian and all but two are Main Coon. How many cats does Wendy have altogether? Lauren is raising pigs and ostriches. Among her animals, she has 17 heads and 56 legs. How many pigs and how many ostriches does Lauren have? Answers Below 7 Brain Games to Make You Smarter Includes remembering items in a picture and counting backwards. SMARTY PANTS ANSWERS Maurice the bull’s situation is A-bomb-in-a-bull. Wendy has three cats. Two are not Siamese, though one is. Two are not Persian, but one is. Two are not Main Coon, but one is. That equals three cats, of of each breed. Lauren has 11 pigs and 9 ostriches. Because each animal has two hind legs, 17 heads means 34 hind legs. So, the remaining 22 legs must be the front legs of the eleven, four-legged pigs. The remaining six heads belong to ostriches. CONFESSION:I didn’t get any right. How did you do? Brainstorms, The Smart Thinking Games.
Einstein # 12: The Difference Between Clever and Wise
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein I can’t add to Einstein’s words but want to share that this is International Dark Sky Week. It encourages us to enjoy starry skies and reduce light pollution. This week, those who rise before the sun can see the crescent skim Saturn, then Jupiter, backed by the constellation Capricorn. Read more. Since 2002, the third Thursday in April has been National High-Five Day. It began when students at the University of Virginia gave away lemonade and happy hand slaps. BTW, the High Five uplifted the earlier ‘low five,’ also called “slip-slapping”, “slapping the plank” and “soul shake” Read more. Whether by clever means or wise, succeed and soar enjoy high-fiving folks Thursday and star gaze all week … always! Shop “Hydrangea,” this week’s Featured Art. Blessings & best wishes. Ramadan This week’s new crescent launches Ramadan. These thirty days are best known for prayer and fasting, when Muslims eat and drink nothing from daybreak to nightfall. As a month that focuses on the inner life, these four weeks and two days offer much to any spiritual practice. Gossip and arguments are avoided. Patience, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and gratitude are highlighted. What a wonderful way. This year, Ramadan starts at sundown, Monday, April 12. Read more. Photo Credit: PNGTree.com
Einstein #11: Driving in Reverse
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. – Albert Einstein Conservation values the past and how things were once done. Progress requires a different, more expansive future. Conservative and progressive approaches have their places, like checking the rear view mirror while zooming forward. That said, consider the guide for Samurai warriors. The Hagakure teaches, It is said that what is called “the spirit of an age” is something to which one cannot return. That this spirit gradually dissipates is due to the world’s coming to an end. For this reason, although one would like to change today’s world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation. As this post’s Featured Video shows, we cannot stay where we are. The universe always sails forward, advancing, progressing. Along the way, keep asking questions. ***** Hermitage, Pennsylvania’s Avenue of Flags was created by in 1977. Tom Flynn established the park as a special place for veterans and to remind that freedom isn’t free. A democracy is a government of social equality shaped by the voters. For a democracy to work, voting must be encouraged, effective and easy. The voting changes legislated in Georgia have caused the outcry that includes boycotting companies headquartered in that state. See list. Beyond Georgia, additional situations require progress to make the United States a democracy that’s truly representative and that honors those who’ve sacrificed to make it so. Read more.