2024 Beyond the Sky’s Limits 4, Journeys
It’s easier to invent the future than to predict it. ― Alan Kay * How high is the sky? On August 16, 1960, Joe Kittinger rode a balloon to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. Up there, where the temperature is -94 degrees Fahrenheit yet blood would boil, he stepped off the platform and plunged 102,800 feet, twice as high as jetliners flew. His speed: 614 miles per hour, approached the sound barrier. Earth’s atmosphere extends 6,200 miles above the planet. After that, the atmosphere blends into space. In jumping from over 19 miles above the Earth, Kittinger reached beyond the sky’s limits. Fifty-two years later, he helped Felix Baumgartner repeat that experience. Watch Joe Kittinger’s jump [3 minutes]. The theme for this fourth of four “Beyond the Sky’s Limits” posts is, “Travel.” Photographs from my “SkyScapes Gallery” accompany this series. Here are five favorite quotes, All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. — Martin Buber It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. — Ursula K. LeGuin A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles. – Tim Cahill Not all those who wander are lost. — J.R.R. Tolkien We too can be pioneers. Not by opening up vast new geographic frontiers, but rather, by finding more thoughtful ways to approach those already discovered. — Sven-Olaf Lindblad Succeed and Soar! SkyScapes Pouches Organize travels and carry possessions safe and secure in these unique and beautiful wallets. Details: Three sizes: Small 6” x 4” , Medium 9.5” x 6” and Large 12.5” x 8.5” Crafted with 100% poly-poplin fabric Double-stitched at seams for extra durability Durable metal zipper Visit All Zippered Pouches Thanks for shopping!
2024 Beyond the Sky’s Limits 3, Laughter
The way to cope with the future is to create it. — Ilya Prigogine This four-part, “Beyond the Sky’s Limits” series was created because, years ago, I read of a man who led cloud-gazing expeditions, When pausing to study them. I found symphonies without sounds, stories without words and marvelous beauty in cloud shapes and colors, in how they gather and separate, tumble and sail. Photographs from my my “SkyScapes Gallery.” accompany this series. Here are quotes that remind of laughter’s beauty, The sound of laughter is like the vaulted dome of a temple of happiness. -Milan Kundera You grow up on the day you have your first real laugh at yourself. – Ethel Barrymore 1879-1959 A good laugh is as good as a prayer sometimes. -L.M. Montgomery Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away. — Benjamin Franklin All you need in the world is love and laughter. That’s all anybody needs. To have love in one hand and laughter in the other. — August Wilson Succeed and Soar! SkyScapes Throw Pillows Decorate in beautiful style. Relax in lovely comfort. Details: Fabric: 100% spun polyester poplin Reversible, same image printed on both sides A concealed zipper Choice of over 70 background colors Removable insert can be requested Pillow sizes: 14×14, 16×16, 18×18, 20×20, 26×26 and 20×14 See All Throw Pillows Thanks for shopping!
2024 Beyond the Sky’s Limits 2, Wealth
You cannot predict the future, but you can create it. — Peter Drucker The atmosphere, the gas layers around Earth, is very short. NASA explains that if our planet were a basketball, “the atmosphere could be …a thin sheet of plastic wrapped around the ball.” Sunlight colors those gases, usually blue during the day. This December dawn was awesome red. When the sun can’t color the sky, we see much further, the Milky Way and its glittering stars. Here’s why. This “Beyond the Sky’s Limits” series features photographs from my “SkyScapes Gallery.” For decades, I’ve collected uplifting, inspiring, motivating quotes. Here are five favorites about wealth, Wealth after all is a relative thing since he that has little and wants less is richer than he that has much and wants more. –Charles Caleb Colton The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away. –Marcus Aurelius The fact remains that the overwhelming majority of people who have become wealthy have become so thanks to work they found profoundly absorbing…. The long term study of people who eventually become wealthy clearly reveals that their “Luck” arose from the accidental dedication they had to an area they enjoyed. –Srully Blotnick He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. –Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu Money, pardon the expression, is like manure. It’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around, encouraging young things to grow. — Hello Dolly! Musical Succeed and Soar! SkyScapes Metal Prints Bring artwork to life while decorating with stylish lines and depth Details Image printed directly on 1/16” thick aluminum Select sizes from 6″x8″ to 30″x 40″ Aluminum print offset from wall by ¾” thick wood frame attached to back The high-gloss aluminum compliments rich colors with stunning results See All Metal Prints Thanks for shopping!
2024 Beyond the Sky’s Limits 1, Dreams
The best way to predict the future is to create it. — credited to Abraham Lincoln * For decades, I’ve collected uplifting, motivating quotes. In 2019, Succeed and Soar allowed me to share them, illustrated with evocative images. The theme for the first of this “Beyond the Sky’s Limits” series is Dreams. As a Disney commercial sings, “A dream is a wish your heart makes.” Many believe our hearts can be our best guides. Photographs from my “SkyScapes Gallery” accompany this series. Here are quotes about dreams I’ve cherished for years, * Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil. — James Allen All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible. — T. E. Lawrence Hope is a waking dream. — Aristotle If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse. — Walt Disney The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do. — Sarah Ban Breathnach Succeed and Soar! COMMENT. SkyScapes 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!
Solstice
Face the Sun, and all your shadows fall behind you. – African Proverb A meditation When hydrogen atoms become helium deep inside the sun, gamma ray photons erupt releasing light and heat. After a 40,000-year journey to the surface, sunbeams are launched. Earth intercepts one in every half billion. On December 21st, the space between this planet and its closest star is ninety-one and a half million miles (147 million kilometers). The distance shortens in the planet’s northern hemisphere as it again tilts toward the sun. Solstice. Winter and a celestial new year begin. Before kindergarten, I knew a sunbeam took eight minutes and 20 seconds to reach Earth because of a cereal commercial about raisins. My family lived on Delmont Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood. Across the brick lane, McKinley Park was filled with trees. Buttercups grew along the walk. I had a puppy and a tricycle that my mother painted with polka dots and wove ribbons through the big, front wheel. Back then, I believed I could run fast enough to keep up with the sun as it slow-poked across the sky. I also knew not to zoom beyond our neighbor’s yard. So, maybe I’ll try outracing the sun next year. The Wisdoms Collection Shop Enriching and Beautiful Posters Click Here