Word Rich: Cosmic Turtle
Advice from a Sea Turtle: Be fearless. Always believe in yourself. Sometimes youโll have to dig yourself out of a hole you didnโt dig. Never forget where you came from. โ Source Unknown ********** Succeed and Soarโsย first, the 2022 โWordsโ series explored phrases that could helpย heal human experiences. ย The 2025 theme is astronomy, ending with this,ย The Cosmic Turtle. From Septemberโs Autumn Equinox to Decemberโs Winter Solstice, night lasts longer in Earthโs northern half.ย Utqiaฤกvikย (formerlyย Barrow),ย Alaska never sees the sun from late November to late January. Murmansk,ย Russia experiences polar night for forty days. The longest is, Longyearbyen,ย Svalbard,ย Norway. [See video at 3 in afternoon.]ย There,ย folks live in darkness from late October to mid February. At ancient gatherings, tales of the Cosmic Turtle explained the world. For Hindu people, Kurmaย supportedย Earthโs weight and keptย the world from collapsing. The Cosmic Turtle symbolizedย stability, strength, and endurance as well as the universeโs balance and harmony. Also inย India, the World-Bearing Turtle is called Chukwa. This member of theย Chelonioideaย family is popular because it cariesย the elephantย which holds the world. In China, the Black Tortoise named Xuanwu is one of four astronomy symbols. Ancient emperors built temples honoring this celestial being, believing it protected against floods and northern enemies. Xuanwuโs black color represented water and winter. In feng shui, Black Tortoise imagery is placed in the northern part of homes or gardens to protect and bring stability. South African Zuluย folkloreย contains a world turtle so large that, โit contains many countries and that one side of it experiences a different season than the other side.โ The Lenape believe the Great Turtle created North America, known to them as Turtle Island. While the story was recorded by Europeans around 1678, earthquakes and eclipses were discussed. Of those events, the people said that there was talk in their own country of a great earthquake, โwhich had happened in former times.โ And, there was still talk of a โremarkable darkening of the Sun because the turtle that held up the earth changed positions, blocking the light. See videos below Wikipediaโs article, โWorld Turtleโ shows how the creature keeps generating new stories. like Terry Pratchettโs Discworld series that occurs on a flat disc atop four elephants the ride atop the giant turtle Great A’Tuinโs shell. The great turtle named Maturin appears in the Stephen King ย novelsย Itย andย Wizard and Glass. The young adult novelย Turtles All the Way Down and film adaptation presentย the World Turtle. Here are more, modern World Turtle tales. Keep in mind, in dreams, turtles could mean a time to slow down, find inner peace and establish boundaries Here are more turtle thoughts, On my door, thereโs a cartoon of two turtles. One says, โSometimes Iโd like to ask why he allows poverty, famine, and injustice when he could do something about it. โThe other turtle says, โIโm afraid God might ask me the same question.’ โย Peter KreeftI I learn as much from a turtle as from a religious text. โย Dalai Lama If the road is beautiful, walk the road slowly; be a turtle, be a snail, and even better than this: Stop walking; live the road fully! โย Mehmet Murat Ildan Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. ********** Radiant Tree Books This Succeed and Soar book shares “Life Well Lived” words of wisdom and uplifting photography. This sketch journal offers encouraging wisdom about going beyond boundaries and making dreams come true. 5×9, 36-page, Trade Journal.ย $11.50.ย ย Preview 8×1, 49 page, Trade Journal,ย ย $19ย ย Preview Thanks for shopping! ********** This four-minute video presents the creation on Turtle Island, now know as North America. Click Here to ViewSee Also: Life Cycle of Sea Turtles, 2 Minutes Sea Turtle Hatchlings Scramble to the Ocean,ย 4 Minutes Sea Turtles 101.ย National Geographicย reminds that sea turtles have existed since dinosaur times and are bigger than human adults.3 Minutes
Easter, Eostre and the Equinox
Every day is a renewal, every morning the daily miracle. —ย Gertrude Stein ฤostre was an ancient goddess of the dawn, of spring and rebirth after winter. During her celebration, people exchanged colored eggs.ย Pysanky, the Ukrainian art of decorating eggs, is several thousand years old. In timeย ฤostre became Easter, The hare, her familiar, and the exchange of pretty eggs remainย parts of that celebration. Easter is also the name given to the crucifixion and rising from death of Jesus of Nazareth, an event also connected to the Vernal or Spring Equinox [the two moments when the sun is exactly above the equator]. Across Earthโs northern hemisphere, the ascension from wintry darkness and cold to increasing light and warmth reminds that rising from what was to new life is possible. Self Renewal Magazineย says, โSelf renewal is a process that allows individuals to reflect on their lives and make necessary changes to improve their overall well-being.โย Here are tips. The Spiritual Lifeย suggests twenty ways to renew, including socialize with different people and declutter your space.ย Read more. At this Easter season [in all seasons], considerย Thomas Mertonโsย words, There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a liberation of creative power. We seek to awaken in ourselves a force which really changes our lives from within. And yet the same instinct tells us that this change is a recovery of that which is deepest, most original, most personal in ourselves. To be born again is not to become somebody else, but to become ourselves. BTW, Here’sย why the date for Easter changesย every year. and featured photograph is from my new book The Noon-Collins Inn,ย Meditations on Grace preview here Succeed and Soar! See beautiful, inspiring Succeed and Soarย posters.ย Sizes from 8โx6.5โ to the popular 30โ x 23.5โ Four Shape Options: Natural, Vertical, Horizontal and Square Printed on acid-free paper with archival inks Includes 1โ white border to allow for future framing and mounting View All Posters Thanks for shopping!