Your Heroic Heart, River Ice
We often look outside to find our hero when there is one inside of each of us. Be your own hero today. -Robert Braathe To Braathe’s inspiring words, Andrew Carnegie said, Man does not live by bread alone. I have known millionaires starving for lack of the nutriment which alone can sustain all that is human in man, and I know workmen, and many so-called poor men, who revel in luxuries beyond the power of those millionaires to reach. It is the mind that makes the body rich. Thus, in his 1904 Deed of Trust, Carnegie provided five million dollars, “To place those following peaceful vocations, who have been injured in heroic effort to save human life, in somewhat better positions pecuniarily than before.” According to CPI Inflation Calculator each of those dollars would be worth over $35 in 2024. On April 4, 1917, Hezekiah Abbott – who could not swim – led four others into stormy waters clogged with treacherous ice to save stranded seal hunters. The rescuers rowed two miles. Listen here. Eighty seven years later, on the same date, Lori Michelle Abbott sustained lacerations and contusions while rescuing an eleven-year-old who’d fallen through river ice. By then, the boy could no longer feel his feet and legs. All survived. Read more. Nominate a Hero. Myths tell of gods creating constellations for heroes. Some stories say heroes’ eyes become stars to watch over loved ones. ‘Hero’ comes from ancient words meaning demi [half, unfinished, almost]-god and to watch over, to protect. Imagine a world where everyone goes to bed a hero. A “Random Act of Kindness” will do, as in this post’s video [below]. What a world! COMMENT. What Makes A Hero? This little video presents the Hero’s Journey formula that’s built history’s great stories and is part of everyone’s life. Click Here to View 4 minutes This image is in Sandra Gould Ford’s beautifully illustrated Wisdoms Gallery and is available as prints, shower curtains, tote bags, tee shirts, beach and bath towels, coffee mugs, stickers, puzzles and more. Buy this art. Thanks for your support !
For the Victorious Life
We are not what happened to us, we are what we wish to become. Carl Jung Each month, Succeed and Soar shares a little video, chosen to lift the heart and spirit, awareness and humanity. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung saw life as a “Hero’s Journey” where monsters must be slain. Sometimes dragons, vampires, zombies and other threats manifest as people and/or situations in the surrounding, outside world. Often, the biggest challenges require soul work and internal growth. Read more This video presents insights that prepare for these opportunities. Click Here to View. Carl Jung’s Life Lessons 10 Minutes Shop Sandra’s Inspiring, Beautiful Fine Art America Galleries Thanks!
Circles and The Hero’s Journey
The world is round, and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning. ~ Ivy Baker Priest A Meditation Years ago, I founded a Creative Writing Program at the Allegheny County Jail that is now called Words Without Walls. In one class, a student said that addiction and crime had taken them to an end from which they saw no new beginning. I mentioned Joseph Campbell, the myth interpreter who believed the monsters we face [a/k/a obstacles and barriers, the difficulties, betrayals and defeats] are the vampires, hydra and furies we’ve been prepared for and that people with huge potential don’t get tiny, irksome problems. They must fight fire-breathing dragons. The Circle that is the Hero’s Journey seems designed to both reveal hidden strengths while forcing growth that could happen no other way, and be continuous. Over and again, failures allow fresh starts. Opportunities dress like challenges. Dead ends reveal paths to new beginnings on the hero’s journey that is life. Please view and enjoy this “Every Story” video. NOTE: Featured Image is “Riding The Enterprise,” (c) 2020 by Sandra Gould Ford. “Enterprise” is an amusement park ride named for the Star Trek starship.