Special Short: DJ Sadhu’s “Moonlight”

Consider The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty,to think, feel, do just as one pleases. – William Hazlitt   Each month, Succeed and Soar shares a short video chosen to lift the heart and spirit, awareness and humanity.   Each year, one DJ Sadhu creation is presented. This select story short [below] is about journeys. Here are encouragements, The end of a journey means the start of another one.– The Book of Felicity, 1582 Sometimes the longest journey we take is the sixteen inches from our heads to our hearts.– Elena Avila  To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.– Ralph Waldo Emerson To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.– Chinese Proverb  Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould FordPresenting art to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thing and inspire. Comment Click Here to View. Moonlight Visual poetry set to music A beautiful, refreshing balloon ride, 5 Minutes  Shop Inspiring Succeed and Soar Art on Coffee Mugs. Also buy beautiful and inspiring prints, framed, canvas. Plus, fleece blankets, journals, greeting cards, clothing, totes, phone cases, towels, bedding and much more. Great gifts. Coffee Mug Details: See All Mugs  Shop All Collections HERE. Thanks for your support!

Newer, Richer, The Utmost

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience. – Eleanor Roosevelt Did you know: Milton Hershey was fired as a printer’s apprentice, He then tried to start three candy companies, all failed, before launching the Lancaster Caramel Company and the Hershey Company making chocolate, a treat for the rich, a household name. Lucille Ball’s [I Love Lucy] movies failed yet she became the first woman to run a major television studio. Sir James Dyson produced 5,126 failed prototypes and spent fifteen years as well as his savings before his vacuum cleaner succeeded. J. K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone while a struggling mother on welfare. After twelve rejections, a publisher bought the manuscript for USD equivalent of $4,000.  Rowling is now worth $1 billion. Eleanor Roosevelt’s words this week encourage leaps of faith while recognizing that such notions can be frightening. What if the jump leads to a crash and burn? Here are answers from those who’d know: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” —James Cameron “What matters is this: Being fearless of failure arms you to break the rules. In doing so, you may change the culture and just possibly, for a moment, change life itself.” —Malcolm Mclaren “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” —Henry Ford More words of wisdom. See also the March, 2020 post about FEAR [Face Everything And Rise], especially Will Smith’s fun and encouraging video. Succeed and Soar! Celebrate! 7/18 Sunday: Nelson Mandela World Day 7/18 Sunday: World Listening Day 7/19 Monday: FREE Ice Cream. Here’s how to get yours. 7/20 Tuesday: National Lollipop Day  [Still treasuring my last, couple Candy Cane Tootsie Roll pops from Christmas!] 7/21 Wednesday: National Hotdog Day  Here are great, vegan [carrot] hotdog recipes. 7/23 Friday: National Gorgeous Grandma Day [I better start glamorizing!] Image Source Eleanor’s Insights Collection Succeed and Soar’s “Eleanor’s Insights” series is illustrated with photographs of ‘wild places.’ This post’s featured image was taken in a shallow ‘cave’ behind a waterfall while camping with my daughters and grandson. The image seems an ideal match for this post. Sometimes the barrier to our brightest possibilities is not a wall. It’s fresh, cleansing water. Art is available as prints on assorted, high-quality papers, framed and on canvas with various borders and widths. Shop Here

Path to Joy: 10th of 12 – This Moment

Write it on your heart that each day is the best day in the year. – Ralph Waldo Emerson The Tenth Path to Joy is “This Moment” which is, as Francis Bacon said, “sparkling like a star in our hand.” While researching the concept of ‘time,’ I found a video on how time travel works. Although revisiting the past or imagining the future can be easier than making the most of the moment, here are reasons to stick with what’s actually happening, right now: The present moment is the only one we control Each moment is a gift [because we don’t know how many we have] Staying out of the past and future improves mental, physical and emotional health. Read more. Although piling up time travel frequent flyer miles can be tempting, here’s help for staying present: How to Stay in The Present Moment 4 Tips to Stay in The Present Moment Feel Happy and Stress Free, 7 Steps How Being Present in The Moment Can Increase Well-being: Seek joy and stay safe! A Path to Joy Art Meditation:  #10 This Moment Find your eternity in each moment  Henry David Thoreau What I like best: The circles contain the numbers one through twelve, as though they are clock faces. Yet they make me think of jellyfish floating forward, effortlessly. Why I like the image: I like how the ‘jellyfish’ suggest that each second can be experienced in many ways, as time drifts, bounces and rolls forward. What the picture teaches: Every second offers many opportunities. The insights gained: These words of wisdom make me smile: The future is always beginning now. Mark Strand The art of life is to live in the present moment, and to make that moment as perfect as we can by the realization that we are the instruments and expression of God. Emmet Fox My last defense / Is the present tense. Gwendolyn Brooks The here and now is all we have, and if we play it right it’s all we’ll need. Ann Richards Note: These ‘Paths to Joy’ are adapted from The Treasure Chest, an old book I found years ago. Page 117 contained “The Twelve Rules of Happiness.” Of special delight is using paints markers and ink to illustrate meditations inspired by this wisdom. The technique is adapted from the book Visual Journaling, Going Deeper Than Words, by Barbara Ganim and Susan Fox. The Illustrated Wisdom: For information and to purchase the Paths to Joy art, visit Sandra’s Galleries.

Path to Joy: 2nd of 12 – Money

What are the two quickest ways to double your money?  Answer: Fold it in half. You can also watch your money in a mirror. Question 2:  Where can you always find money?  Answer: In the dictionary. Here’s more money humor: Joe says, “I hate paying income tax.” Mary says, “You should be a good citizen and pay with a smile. Joe answers, “I’d like to, but they insist on money.” Read more Funny Money Jokes. Welcome to Succeed and Soar’s Path to Joy: Money, adapted from The Treasure Chest’s “The Twelve Rules of Happiness.” Of the 2nd Path, much has been said, including: The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Bible, I Timothy 6:10 The lack of money is the root of all evil. – Mark Twain [This quote is also attributed to George Bernard Shaw] A man in debt is so far a slave. – Ralph Waldo Emerson A penny saved is a penny earned. – Benjamin Franklin Check out these 18 Money Management Tips to Improve Finances This Post’s Featured Art, “Money,” A Visual Meditation. A man who both spends and saves money is the happiest. Samuel Johnson What I like best about the picture. The moon. Why? While I like the sun, the flowers and their roots, the moon is special because it’s new and growing toward full. I like the silver rays radiating from the moon as it lights the dark times. What does this picture teach?  THE SEEDS:  Some are flying away from the flowers. Some land nearby and are developing their own roots. This teaches me that letting go can be as beneficial – even necessary – as holding things close. THE FLOWER AND SEEDLING ROOTS: They teach that anchors are important and that sources of nourishment and enrichment are sometimes hidden. NIGHT AND DAY: Both times can be meaningful and productive, literally and symbolically. They are parts of the whole. How can these insights lead to joy? With money, how it’s obtained and dispersed can be paths to joy. Money can be spent-sent out into the world to buy things that improve life. In saving and keeping money close, it can grow within easy reach. The picture reminds that those who both spend and save can be happiest. NOTE These ‘Paths to Joy’ are adapted from The Treasure Chest, an old book I found years ago. Page 117 contained “The Twelve Rules of Happiness.” Of special delight is using paints markers and ink to illustrate meditations inspired by this wisdom. The technique is adapted from the book Visual Journaling, Going Deeper Than Words, by Barbara Ganim and Susan Fox. Shop Sandra’s OnLine Art Gallery

Because You Live. Thank Goodness!

  To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;  To leave the world a bit better, Whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 to 1882) A Meditation: Emerson was a philosopher and poet. He was born in Boston and attended Harvard Divinity School. Emerson believed that — because everything is connected to God — everything is divine. In an 1841 essay, this transcendentalist encouraged people to: Find their own life callings instead of following society’s expectations. Develop their own voices and understandings of life (rather than relying on others’ opinions). Be honest in all relationships. His essay, “Self Reliance,” reads in part, Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age,  Read entire essay. Because you live, these opportunities await! Thank goodness! Perhaps a place of divine providence for one man is the way he’s helping thousands breathe easier through the laughter he’s caused by giving breath to a tiny, drowned lizard.  Click on the picture below. Enjoy.       The Wisdoms Collection Shop Enriching and Beautiful Posters Click Here  

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