Word Rich, The Chicxulub Impactor
Click Here to View The featured, 3-minute video presents Earth’s most recent Mass Extinction event while explaining: The meteor that struck Earth was 10 Km wide Its impact equaled hundreds of millions of atomic bombs and Life can bounce back, even after the most devastating blows Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. ~ Seneca the Younger Succeed and Soar’s first, the 2022 “Words” series explored phrases that could help appreciate and heal human experiences. The 2025 theme is astronomy. OurWorldinData.org reports that 10% of Earth’s species vanish every few million years. Every ten million years, 30% of this plant’s life forms disappear forever. Every one hundred million years 65% of Earth’s species die off. Larger losses are called “Mass Extinctions.” During those events, 75% or more of life on Earth ends. The most recent is called, “Chicxulub.” That cataclysm ended dinosaur’s reign sixty-six million years ago. The close of the huge reptile era coincided with survivors becoming birds while allowing mammals to flourish. The earliest were small shrews, Morganucodon. Several hundred million years later, human beings happened. Chicxulub involved a city-sized meteor striking Earth. NewScientist.com reports, “rocks from deep within Earth’s crust were raised 25 kilometres high and a rim of mountains taller than the Himalayas formed around the crater’s edge.” It’s in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsuyla. Further, “The asteroid hit at 20 kilometres per second from an angle of 60 degrees above horizontal – just right for sending the maximum amount of vaporised rock into the atmosphere. Plumes of sulphur-based gases and fine dust blocked out the sun, causing an “impact winter” that lasted for fifteen years.” Very little survived. Especially plants and animals that could feed the huge dinosaurs. By the way, Daily, 230 asteroids burn up when entering Earth’s atmosphere 800,000 asteroids travel our solar system Two hundred million years ago, underwater volcanoes caused the global warming and altered ocean chemistry killing 80% of Earth’s life. Two hundred fifty million years ago, 96% of Earth’s life perished when Siberian volcanoes caused global warming, ocean acidification and acid rain. The second of five Mass Extinctions happened when rapid plant growth caused severe global cooling. The first, known major die-off happened when “Intense glacial and interglacial periods created large sea-level swings and moved shorelines … the Appalachian mountains created lots of weathering, sequestration of CO2, and with it, changes in climate and ocean chemistry.” See “Snowball Earth.” Keep in mind, New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings. ~ Laozi With the possible exception of the equator, everything begins somewhere. ~ C. S. Lewis Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. Sandra’s Fine Art America Journals Record your dreams, hopes, plans and achievements in these beautiful, inspiring notebooks. Details: 6” x 8, spiral notebook 120 pages, ruled on both sides Art printed on front Cover is thick paper stock. Back cover is medium gray Inside front and back covers have pockets for storing extra paper and pens View All Notebooks Thanks for shopping!
Practical
Expect the best. Plan for the worst. Capitalize on what comes. – Zig Ziglar 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. Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. — Albert Einstein The creative personality seems never to grow old but rather, simply grow. – Alden B. Dow He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary. – Seneca Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself. ~ Source Unknown Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. – Mark Twain Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Life Well Lived offers floral photographs, wise words and invitations to see life as a garden of possibilities. This 60-page book offers lots of space for personal notes, sketches and meditations. Here are opportunities to both enjoy life’s seasons and find enrichment. A great gift. * 5×8 $14.50 Preview and Purchase. * 8×10 $19.00 Preview and Purchase. Thanks for shopping! While a How-To Illustrated Wisdom video is developed for Life Well Lived, here’s a helpful companion, Self Care through Visual Journaling: 5 Easy Steps.
Life Well Lived #7: Change
To change is to be vulnerable. And to be vulnerable is to be alive. –Alexis De Veaux A phrase that makes me smile [sometimes grimace] are Seneca’s words about how those who go willingly are guided by The Fates while those who resist are dragged. I smile thinking of times I’ve resisted changes of habits, work and associations and had to be dragged in new directions. Change can be difficult. It means stepping away from the familiar and into the unknown. It can also be vital. In researching good reasons for change, I found a list of ten reasons, including new opportunities for happiness and the fresh starts that add excitement to life. Read more. Another list offers twelve benefits, such as the increased resilience, versatility and confidence that build strength. Read more. Change. Hmmm. Now I’m thinking: What must be modified before The Fates drag me again? What door must close so that new ones open? How can I feel more alive? The answers are challenging. How about you? When has a change helped? Why not share a few words? Comment on this post [Leave A Reply below]. * Fireballs & Star Showers Social distancing and quarantining has definitely limited entertainment options. Next week, the heavens offer two marvelous and free shows. With a waning, quarter moon, they will be easy to see. Here’s how to find the celestial star shows. [Fortunately, as Earth spins, Pittsburgh will turn toward those constellations at night, rather than during daytime,] For summer’s best and brightest, see the Perseids Also view The Delta –Aquariids and alpha Capricornids Comment. Leave A Reply [below] if and where you see the star shows. Enjoy. * This Week’s Special Offer Each week, my Featured Art is offered at 25% off [plus any discounts offered by my Galleries]. Shop here. Thank you for visiting my galleries and for your purchases. They support Succeed and Soar.