Life Well Lived #13: Sunshine
Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. Maori Proverb They’re blooming! These Jerusalem Artichokes [also called Sun Chokes] began in my neighbor’s yard. Year-by-year, bit-by-bit, they migrated to mine. By the time the house was torn down, none grew next door … until I tossed a few flowers into the vacant lot. Four years later, a little grove is growing with flowers steadfastly, insistently facing toward warmth and sun. What lovely inspirations as autumn nears and winter follows. BTW, the flowers’ roots are tubers, a vegetable that tastes like a blend of potato and artichoke heart. They improve digestive health, keep bones strong, have lots of vitamins C, A and E, antioxidants that fight disease. They go great in salads, can be added to soups and ground into flour. Read more. Also, check out Rihanna’s video, “Towards The Sun.” * Archive.Org Imagine accessing billions of books, videos, audio materials [including live concerts] and more for free. The Internet Archive’s goal is to provide Universal Access to All Knowledge. They began in 1996 by archiving the Internet itself and now have: 200,000 software programs 330 billion web pages 20 million books and texts 4.5 million audio recordings (including live concerts) Millions of videos (including Television News shows) 3 million images They even have out-of-print books published before 1923, which was how I found this great resource. * 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. NOTE “Jerusalem Artichokes” was photographed with a Nikon CoolPix camera on an overcast day and ‘developed’ with Adobe Photoshop Elements 14. The image was processed through both the Watercolor and Accented Edges Filters along with enrichment of the color saturation and vibrance as well as lighting.
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
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
Circles Guaranteed
Think of the wonderful circles in which our whole being moves and from which we cannot escape no matter how we try. E. T. A. Hoffmann The Nutcracker ballet is based on an E.T.A. Hoffman short story. A Meditation: The Moon travels 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) each hour as it circles Earth. During this hour, Earth zooms forward 66,000 miles (106,217 kilometers) as it circles the Sun. Meanwhile, the Sun hauls its planets, asteroids, comets, etc. 558,000 miles [898,013 kilometers] farther around the Milky Way. Because this orbit takes a quarter billion years, the Sun has had just twenty birthdays. With all of this celestial circling, the universe keeps returning to starting points again and again. The Wisdoms Collection Shop Enriching and Beautiful Posters Click Here