Run for Your Life
Consider You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it. – Margaret Thatcher One of my delights is finding and presenting special, short videos. This month’s is about the Galapagos Islands Marine Iguanas. While they live on rocks above the ocean, babies hatch inland. There, racer snakes await the once-a-year feast of newborns. While the predators can’t see very well, they can detect movement. Of this infant’s first moment, the narrator says, “If the hatchling keeps its nerve [stands still], it may just avoid detection.” Here are comments from the millions who’ve seen this BBC Earth series clip: I watched this so many times, only to realise today that it’s real. I always thought it was a made up story it’s absolutely amazing the snakes are so fast, I have never seen snakes [slither] this fast in my life. It is quite literally a scene out of someone’s worst nightmare. Whoever shot this recorded pure cinematic legendary genius. Absolutely enthralling. It’s crazy how the newborn iguana instinctively knew to stand still even though there was a snake passing by right in front of it. This left me more on the edge of my seat than any blockbuster I’ve seen in the last few years. Life itself truly writes the best stories. The footage, editing and music of this video was absolutely on point. Shop Sandra’s Art on Greeting Cards Also available as tote bags, tee shirts, journals, puzzles, phone cases, ornaments, face masks, towels, blankets, cups, pillows, shower curtains and more Each item is individually made, just for you. This photograph was taken in the Rocky Mountain woods near Aspen, Colorado. About the gorgeous, quality Greeting Cards: Impressive 5×7, 100 pound stock Outside: Semi-gloss, protective UV coat Inside: matte white finish Your own, personal message can be printed inside cards [up to 500 characters] Single card $4.95 Box of ten: $2.55 per card Box of 25: $1.95 per card CUSTOMIZE. Use tools with item to: Enlarge, reduce size of art Change placement of art and text Choose background colors Shop the Celebrate Winter collection HERE. Thanks for your support!
Peace
We will have to want peace, want it enough to pay for it, before it becomes an accepted rule. Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt’s words really resonate on this anniversary of the World Trade Center attack, one of so many in human history. Think of Pearl Harbor. Think of Germany’s Gypsy, Homosexual, Jewish Holocaust. Think of the decimation of this hemisphere’s first people. A 100,000 year war waged by our species now leaves us without another. See How Neanderthals and Humans Battled. Also see The Neanderthals War. While wars between humans have been brief by comparison, the longest include: The 781-year-long Christian invasion of the Iberian Peninsula The 681-year-long Greco-Roman vs. Persian [Iran] battles The 675-year-long Byzantine-Bulgarian wars in the Balkans The 602 years, five months, one week and four days of the Christian Crusades Here’s More Whew! Mrs. Roosevelt believed, ”The basis of world peace is the teaching which runs through almost all the great religions of the world. Love thy neighbor as thyself.” And some have also, historically advocated the conquest and killing of those viewed as different. Eleanor Roosevelt asked, “When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” Personal peace is a start. What if more and more: Resisted guilt. Didn’t compare themselves to others. Challenged their ‘musts’ and converted ‘shoulds’ to ‘coulds.’ Took breaks from the hustle-bustle and visited tranquil places. See More Ways to Find Peace of Mind and Inner Calm. Predator-Prey is Earth’s MO [Modus Operandi, Method of Operating]. All animals and some plants kill other living things to live. That said, here’s a thought [illustrated in part by playing the original Super Mario]: What if Earth’s kill-or-be-killed conditions are a kind of test, a puzzle? What if a blissful after life is the reward for figuring out how to create on Earth all that’s promised in heaven, Eden, Paradise? What if Earth is, as some suggest, Purgatory where failure-flunking requires a re-do? Here’s another question: What price would you pay for more peace? Succeed and Soar! Remember September 11 is also “Make Your Bed Day” September 12 is Grandparents Day September 15 is International Day of Democracy September 17 is National Constitution Day Image by pikepicture Eleanor’s Insights Collection Succeed and Soar’s “Eleanor’s Insights” series is illustrated with photographs of ‘wild places.’ Art is available as prints, framed and on canvas as well as on journals, greeting cards, weekender bags, shower curtains, puzzles and much more. Shop Here