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!
Soul Words: Conditional Love
You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. –Buddha This year, Succeed and Soar explores eight, enlightening words. The first was Traumatic Wisdom, when hurtful experiences can elevate and enrich.This post considers, Conditional Love. Of it, Donald Miller said, “No love is conditional. If love is conditional, it’s just some sort of manipulation masquerading as love.” Conditional Love has strings attached. It can exist between friends and within families. WildSimpleJoy says that in these situations, the ‘loved one:’ Rarely feels good enough Is adored in public but not in private Read more If wondering whether a relationship involves Conditional Love, ask: If the ‘loved one’ lost their job, would you stay with them? Would they stay with you? Do you [or they] take more than is given? More questions To avoid being a Conditional lover: Use conflict as a learning experience [rather than to control] Practice non-judgment Learn the other’s love language. Nine more methods As Romantific says, “conditional love is not much better than unconditional love. Usually, with unconditional love, you were iin love in the beginning and now are able to accept the flaws of another person. With conditional love, true love was never there because you were only in the relationship because you wanted to “get something” out of it (more money, a higher social status, etc.). Here’s more With spring approaching, romance in the air and the world brightening, think of Kim McMillen’s words. “When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn’t healthy. This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs, and habits – anything that kept me small. My judgment called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving.” Remember Courtney A. Walsh’s invitation, Dear Human: You’ve got it all wrong. You didn’t come here to master unconditional love. That is where you came from and where you’ll return. You came here to learn personal love. Universal love. Messy love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. Infused with divinity. Lived through the grace of stumbling. Demonstrated through the beauty of… messing up. Often. You didn’t come here to be perfect. You already are. You came here to be gorgeously human. Flawed and fabulous. And then to rise again into remembering. But unconditional love? Stop telling that story. Love, in truth, doesn’t need ANY other adjectives. It doesn’t require modifiers. It doesn’t require the condition of perfection. It only asks that you show up. And do your best. That you stay present and feel fully. That you shine and fly and laugh and cry and hurt and heal and fall and get back up and play and work and live and die as YOU. It’s enough. It’s Plenty. Courtney Walsh’s book Dear Human: A Manifesto of Love and Invocation to Humanity is currently out of print. Copies can be found at alibris, biblio and abebooks. Here are Five powerful ways to love yourself more Succeed and Soar! The Wisdoms Collection Shop Enriching and Beautiful Posters Click Here to Visit
Love
We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. – Sam Keen For decades, I’ve gathered precious insights. Each one I read is like a breath of life. They lift my spirit and remind of the good we can do and marvelous things we can be. I hope these words of wisdom encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. I hope the Succeed and Soar web site gladdens your heart. Within your heart, keep one still, secret spot where dreams may go. – Louise Driscoll Blessed is the season that engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. – Hamilton Wright Mabie Now and then in life, love catches you unawares, illuminating the dark corners of your mind, and filling them with radiance. Once in awhile you are faced with a beauty and a joy that takes your soul, all unprepared, by assault. — Jennifer Worth First romance, first love, is something so special to all of us, both emotionally and physically, that it touches our lives and enriches them forever. – Rosemary Rogers Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, While loving someone deeply gives you courage. – Lao Tzu Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Shop Succeed & Soar Mugs Details: Ceramic Dishwasher and Microwave safe Two sizes: 11 oz and 15 oz View All Mugs Thanks for shopping!
3 High Spirits Ingredients
Someone once asked me what I regarded as the three most important requirements for happiness. My answer was: A feeling that you have been honest with yourself and those around you; a feeling that you have done the best you could both in your personal life and in your work; and the ability to love others. – Eleanor Roosevelt Blessings and best wishes during this season of holy-days that celebrate the return of the sun’s light. While enjoying heart-warming fellowship and spirit-lifting festivities, allow a few moments to consider: What will bring deep down-sky high happiness in 2022? According to Eleanor Roosevelt: Be Honest with Yourself During Kwanzaa [December 26 through January 1], participants can prepare for a more satisfying year by answering these questions, truthfully: Who am I? Am I really who I am? Am I all I ought to be? Because accuracy in answering is essential, Tony Robbin’s team offers these “Signs That You Need to be Honest with Yourself.” If something feels “off” in your life, if passion is fading in important relationships, if you’re not excited about your career or feel busy but not productive, you may need to be straighter and more straightforward with yourself. See five ways. If you find you work a job you dislike, hate, or tolerate, you lack control over your time and/or your mental, physical, and spiritual health and could use a tune-up here are guides for facing facts:: Mind Café’s “Liberate yourself by telling yourself the truth.” GoodTherapy‘s “Live Your Truth” And PsychCentral suggests: Step into other people’s shoes, Accent the positive, Forgive yourself. Do Your Best Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements For A Better Life explains: Under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next. Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high quality, and other times it will not be as good … If you have done your best and your inner Judge tries to judge you, you’ve got the answer: “I did my best.” Read More Here, remember, If you try to do your best, there is no failure. – Mike Farrell Loving Life is the flower for which love is the honey. – Victor Hugo Last year, Succeed and Soar published a Love Is series which listed five types: The ability to love oneself and be concerned with ones happiness An empathetic love that exists in families The fondness found in friendships Romantic passion, and Open-hearted, unconditional and world-embracing spiritual love To be more loving, WikiHow says, Share Your Love by serving others, reflecting on personal mistakes, surrounding yourself with people who are loving, practicing forgiveness and writing down positive experiences [buy a few of Sandra’s Gifts journals]. Understand Love by letting go of fantasy love, evaluating your behavior and not expecting anything in return. Work on You by being more hopeful and growing. Read More. If I could choose one super power, I would want to be able to make everyone love everyone! Betsey Johnson With Eleanor Roosevelt’s three ingredients for happiness, our individual and collective worlds could become quite bright and delicious. These special days could also help: January 26: Day of Goodwill and National Thank You Note Day. Here are sample Thank You notes, including for the worst gifts ever. December 27 Fruitcake Day [Okay, so why are the ones I like missing at Costco again this year? Must I do a version of the song-dance “Fancy Like” that got Oreo shakes back at Applebee’s? ] December 30 National Resolution Planning Day. Here are guides from Psychology Today December 31 National Champagne Day Succeed and Soar! Join Succeed & Soar’s Monthly ZOOM Chat Thursday, January 6, 2022 7pm Along with thoughts on Eleanor Roosevelt’s statements and a range of topics as vast as the universe, here are books I’ve been reading this month. Nothing to See Here. See Review: Captivated Reading Review. Toms River. See Review: New York Times Review. Born A Crime. See Review: Caprichos Books Review Subscribe to receive Zoom link, and see you January 6th! Succeed & Soar Wisdoms Beautifully illustrated inspirations and encouragements available as prints, framed and on canvas as well as on journals, greeting cards, weekender bags, shower curtains, puzzles and much more. Shop Here
Einstein #5: Embracing Widening Circles
Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. – Albert Einstein Imagine freeing ourselves as Einstein recommends. I was searching for information about embracing all of creation when these words from Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov presented, “Love all God’s creation, both the whole and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of light. Love the animals, love the plants, love each separate thing. If thou love each thing thou wilt perceive the mystery of God in all.” The novel’s 41st Chapter contains thought-provoking conversations about Prayer, Love, Contact with Other Worlds and Hell Fire. True, the world contains enmity, ill will, animosity, indifference, apathy and hatred, the shadows that ensnarl and shrivel human potential. On the bright side, imagine lives liberated and blossoming in widening circles of affection, friendship, tenderness and love … one person and a step at a time. Choices. Here are more for the coming week. Tomorrow, Sunday is National Sticky Bun Day Wednesday is Tortilla Chip Day and Thursday celebrates Pistachio Nuts. Best of all, Friday, Feb 26 is “Tell A Fairy Tale” day. Here are Fairy Tales from Around The World, including “The Golem of Prague” read by Leonard Nimoy [Star Trek’s Mister Spock.] Enjoy! ***** The largest, edible pancake weighed over three tons and measured 49 feet across. The highest toss of a pancake is 31 feet above the ground. The Opus Restaurant in Manchester, England sells single pancakes for $200. They’re served with a jelly named Dom Perignon and are made with Madagascan vanilla pods and 23-carat, edible gold leaf. Read more Pancake Surprises.
Love Is 5th of 5: Happiness & Husband Recipes
Love is our most unifying and empowering common spiritual denominator. The more we practice its potential to bring greater balance and deeper meaning to human existence, the more likely we are to create a glorious future of man’s humanity to man. In this fifth and final “Love Is” post [for now], Aberjhani’s quote above has been adjusted a bit. Here are his exact words.. In the meantime, consider two recipes from The Writ-by-Hand cookbook, 1983. Recipe for Happiness Mend a quarrel Search out an old friend Dismiss suspicion Show your trust Write a letter Share some treasure Give a soft answer Encourage youth Manifest your loyalty Don’t give up Keep a promise Find the time Forego a grudge Forgive an enemy Open your heart Apologize if you were wrong Try to understand Boot out envy Think first of someone else Appreciate, be kind, be gentle Laugh a little more Do a good job Deserve confidence Reach out Fight prejudice Express your gratitude Gladden the heart of a child Take pleasure in the beauty of nature And always trust in God. How many more can you add? Etta M. Andrews shared this recipe. How to Preserve A Husband Be careful in your selection. Do not hoose too young and take only such varieties as have been reared in good moral atmosphere. When once decided upon and selected, let the past remain forever settled and give entire thought and preparation to domestic use. Some insist on keeping them in a pickle, while others keep getting them into hot water. Even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good by garnishing them with kisses. Then wrap well in a mantle of charity. Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with the fruits of constant devotion and milk of human kindness. When thus prepared they will keep for years. Annie Laurie Boswell Taylor shared this recipe. [She did not know the source.] * I purchased the first and second volumes of this cookbook when visiting Crawfordville, Georgia. That’s where my mother’s mother was born and raised and where her mother was born during the Civil War. I was trying to understand Pinkie Gunn Ellington, my great grandmother by walking the land where she’d known slavery. You, too, have visited Crawfordville if you’ve seen the movies. Sweet Home Alabama, Get Low, Coward of the County, Home Fires Burning, Paris Trout, Summer of My German Soldier, Stars and Bars, Carolina Skeletons, Passion for Justice, Neon Bible, or Pushin’ Up Daisies. I plan to [finally] make recipes from The Writ-by-Hand cookbooks this year, including Cracker Jacks [from Leona Jones], Mississippi Mud [a cake from Mrs. W. C. Jones] and Salt Rising Bread [from Mrs. Lily S. Gunn]. Which LOVE quote is matched to the right movie? “It doesn’t matter if the guy is perfect or the girl is perfect, as long as they are perfect for each other.” ~ My Best Friend’s Wedding ?? “It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.” ~ Great Expectations ?? You’re the first boy I ever kissed, Jake, and I want you to be the last.” ~ Sweet Home Alabama “I wish I had done everything on earth with you” ~ The Great Gatsby. Answers Below. The Writ-by-Hand cookbooks were published by the Taliaferro County Historical Society. The first in 1983. Volume 2 in 1988. I was unable to find information on their cookbook series in time for this post. Here’s their website. If you learn how to order the cookbooks, please share. Please comment on this blog. ********** Five versions of my “Before All Else” Illustrated Wisdom art have been created with Adobe Photoshop. See them in upcoming posts. Support and encourage Succeed and Soar. Purchase the art as prints, ready-to-display canvas or framed from my galleries. Quiz Answers “It doesn’t matter if the guy is perfect or the girl is perfect, as long as they are perfect for each other.” ~ Good Will Hunting “It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.” ~ The Fault In Our Stars You’re the first boy I ever kissed, Jake, and I want you to be the last.” ~ Sweet Home Alabama “I wish I had done everything on earth with you” ~ The Great Gatsby.
Love is 4: Fairytale
Once in awhile, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale. – Melissa Brown, Picturing Perfect Today, I’ll be soaking dry cannellini beans in spring water. After they plump, I’ll cook a hearty and creamy soup. Except, a couple beans will be planted on my windowsill. There, I’ll watch to see what kind of beanstalks grow. This holiday season has been incredibly beautiful in Pittsburgh. Record snowfalls keep creating fairytale wonderlands. In one form or another, I hope the same for you. [Keep in mind Neil Gaiman’s words from Coraline. “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”] Blessings and best wishes for a new year of sunlit and lovely places where all the good you can imagine grows. Comment below. Love Lots! “In A Heartbeat,” a first crush. Click here to view 4-minute video. Which LOVE quote is matched to the right source? “Love is a friendship set to music.” ~ Shakespeare ?? “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ?? “You don’t love someone because they’re perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they’re not.“ ~ Taylor Swift ?? “The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds.” ~ Noah Calhoun ?? — Answers Below — ***** Five versions of my “Before All Else” Illustrated Wisdom art have been created with Adobe Photoshop. See them in upcoming posts. Support and encourage Succeed and Soar. Purchase the art as prints, ready-to-display canvas or framed from my galleries. Consider starting a journal for the new year. Check Sandra’s Card Shop. More covers will be added this week. Quiz Answers “Love is a friendship set to music.” ~ Joseph Campbell “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “You don’t love someone because they’re perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they’re not.“ ~ Jodi Picoult “The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds.” ~ Noah Calhoun
Love is 3: Miracles & Heroes
Where there is great love there are always miracles. — Willa Cather Isn’t the possibility of being miracle-making heroes wonderful? This week, along with Willa Cather’s inspiring quote, listen to Luther Vandross’ gorgeous gem “Heart of A Hero.” Click here to enjoy. Bet you can’t listen just once! Imagine a world of such people. Please share your thoughts. Comment below on this week’s post, and enjoy the video. *** Which LOVE quote is matched to the right movie or television show? There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father’s love for his child. – Prince of Tides ?? All we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. –Lost ?? It’s easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it. It’s easier to beat a child than it is to raise it. Hell, love costs: it takes effort and work. –Seven ?? Answers Below. *** Yes, there is bigger news these days, but have to make a splashy announcement about Sandra’s Cards Shop Thanks to a request from a Succeed & Soar reader, my art will be offered on greeting cards and journals. There’s a bit of a learning process to figuring out my on-line shop. As I go, more items will be added. These CafePress products are high quality. Stop by Sandra’s Cards today. Check back to see how I’m doing and more offerings. Also visit my galleries and ask for items with my art. Quiz Answers There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father’s lovefor his child. –Conan the Barbarian (1982) All we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. –Lost(2006) “Live Together, Die Alone” It’s easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it. It’s easier to beat a child than it is to raise it. Hell, lovecosts: it takes effort and work. –Seven (1995)
Love 2: A Glimpse of Heaven
To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven. –Karen Sunde Succeed and Soar’s first Love Is post advised, “Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.” There, five types of love were listed: for self, family, friends, romance and all of creation. This week’s quote is from Karen Sunde’s gorgeous poem “2nd ODE: To Love, from KABUKI OTHELLO.” Read the beautiful poem For me, Sunde’s lovely words prompt several questions: How could love be described? Where is heaven? What is glimpsed when love is absent? Here are my answers: I would describe love as the willingness to generously experience peace and joy. Then, from that state of being, share. I think heaven is in how a loving heart instructs the brain. I believe conditions that prevent love of self and/or family and/or friends and/or romance and/or all of creation is: Fireburg and Brimstoneville. How would you answer? Share here. Comment below. *** Which LOVE quote is matched to the right movie? “You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.” ~ Casablanca ?? “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” ~ Sleepless in Seattle ?? “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return.” ~ Moulin Rouge ?? Answers Below. *** Five versions of my “Before All Else” Illustrated Wisdom art have been created with Adobe Photoshop. See them in upcoming posts. Support and encourage Succeed and Soar. Purchase the art as prints, ready-to-display canvas or framed from my galleries. Quiz Answers “You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.” These words are from Gone With The Wind “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” These words are from When Harry Met Sally “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return.” These words are from Moulin Rouge
Love 1: Key to The Gates of Happiness
Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness. – Oliver Wendell Holmes What does love mean? The ancient Greeks identified several types. Philautia: the ability to love oneself and be concerned with ones happiness Storge: an empathetic love that exists in families Philia: the fondness found in friendships Eros: romantic, passionate love Agape: open-hearted, unconditional and world-embracing spiritual love I do believe that existing within these experiences grows our personal heavens on Earth. The opposite [intolerance, stinginess, meanness, prejudice, etc.] are like fire and brimstone. As this year approaches the season that calls for Good Will toward all, Succeed and Soar’s next postings present meditations on love. In the meantime, share a favorite love experience. Comment below. * Which LOVE quote is matched to the right movie or television show? “I believe that we can be extraordinary together rather than ordinary apart.” — Titanic “You are the perfect verse over a tight beat.” — Brown Sugar “And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.” —Buffy The Vampire Slayer * Five versions of my “Love Seed” Illustrated Wisdom art have been created with Adobe Photoshop. See them in upcoming posts. Support and encourage Succeed and Soar. Purchase the art as prints, ready-to-display canvas or framed. Visit gallery. *** Quiz Answers “I believe that we can be extraordinary together rather than ordinary apart.” — [Television] Meredith Grey, Grey’s Anatomy “You are the perfect verse over a tight beat.” — [Movie] Andre Ellis, Brown Sugar “And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.” — [Television] The Vampire Diaries