Art Painting: The Death of Socrates

The Death of Socrates, Jacques-Louis David, 1787/The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Artist Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825)
TitleThe Death of Socrates
Date1787
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions51 x 77 1/4 in. (129.5 x 196.2 cm)
Credit LineCatharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund, 1931.

Accused by the Athenian government of denying the gods and corrupting the young through his teachings, Socrates (469–399 B.C.) was offered the choice of renouncing his beliefs or being sentenced to death by drinking hemlock. David shows him calmly discoursing on the immortality of the soul with his grief-stricken disciples. Painted in 1787, the picture, with its stoic theme, is perhaps David's most perfect Neoclassical statement. The printmaker and publisher John Boydell wrote to Sir Joshua Reynolds that it was "the greatest effort of art since the Sistine Chapel and the stanze of Raphael. . . . This work would have done honour to Athens at the time of Pericles." The subject is loosely based on Plato's Phaedo, but in painting it David consulted a variety of sources, including Diderot's treatise on dramatic poetry of 1758 and works by the poet André Chenier. The pose of the figure at the foot of the bed was reportedly inspired by a passage in a novel by the English writer Richardson.



How-to-have-a-good-day!


HOW TO HAVE A GOOD DAY!

Wake up early - don't rush
Breath slowly and deeply
Exercise
Take 5 minutes to reflect
Greet everyone
Smile a lot
Compliment often
Communicate
Listen more - talk less
Beware of giving advice
View your work as a privilege
Express appreciation
Do your best
Welcome change
Relax your neck muscles
Plan time for relaxation
Throw away negative feelings
Let go of anger and guilt
Leave work at work
Review your accomplishments
Plan pleasurable events
Eat well at night
Recognize your blessings
Lots of love

How-to-have-a-bad-day!


HOW TO HAVE A BAD DAY:
Wake up late, in a panic
Rush to get ready
Dress hurriedly
Don't eat
Drink lots of coffee
No spiritual reflection
No exercise
Don't plan your day
Focus on your failures
Never smile
Be selfish and unfriendly
Criticize, blame, complain
Think negative thoughts
Dictate, direct, command
Don't forget to nag
Don't overlook mistakes
Grumble
No time for lunch
Harbor resentment
Keep rushing
Don't communicate
Keep it all to yourself
Worry about tomorrow
Be rigid and cranky
Retire with bad thoughts and a full stomach


Stand-Tall-Like-the-Sunflower

Even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.

A family moved into their new home some years ago and they spent a lot of time and energy in the yard to get it look green. They lived on a corner, higher than street level, and the entire side of the yard was encased by a professionally built rock wall. They did the best and changed that area as their 'rock garden'.

Last summer they found a tiny little plant at the end of the rock garden that they could not immediately identify. They knew that they didn't plant it. They decided to let it continue growing until they could figure out what it was.

Weeks passed and as they made their way back to the mystery plant, it appeared to be a Sunflower. It was spindly looking with a tall skinny stalk and only one head on it. They decided to baby it along and weed around it. As they pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, they noticed something unusual. The Sunflower had not started where they saw the stalk begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the sun.

This makes us realize that if a tiny little Sunflower didn't let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the capability of doing the same thing. Once our environment begins to see that we believe in ourselves like that little Sunflower, we can attain the same nourishment and nurturing as well.

First, we need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the capabilities in achieving our desires. Like the Sunflower, it knew it had the capability to overcome its obstacle because it trusted in the Universal Truth and had faith it would succeed.

Stand tall like the Sunflower and be proud of who and what you are and the environment will begin to support you. You will find a way to go under or around your big obstacle in order to reach your desires




Boy and Tree



There was one time a very young boy, who used to spend time playing by a tree.

One day he got bored and he said to the tree, "I'm bored, I've played with these toys too many times!"

The tree replied, "OK, you can climb up on me and play on my branches."

The boy got really happy with this suggestion and he had a lot of fun playing and sitting high up, on the branches of the tree.

When he started school, he spent more time away from the tree, but one day he came back to it, and the tree was overjoyed to see its young companion, and it encouraged him to climb on, but he refused.

"My clothes are going to get dirty if I climb up on you."
So the tree thought for a while, and said, "OK, bring a rope and tie it to me, and you can use my branches as a swing."

The boy liked that idea, so he did that too, and would come back every other day to sit for a while on that swing.

Whenever he used to get hot, the tree told him to rest in its shade.

As he got older, and moved on to college, times became harder on him and he ran short of food, so he went back to the tree which he had stopped visiting for a long time.

The tree recognised him immediately and welcomed him, but he was hungry and complained to the tree, "I don't have any food to eat, my stomach is cringing with hunger."

So the tree said, "Pull down my branches and take off the fruit, and fill yourself up."

The young guy didn't even hesitate, but jumped up and tore off one of the smaller branches and ate to his fill.

Over the weeks, he tore off all the branches and ate all the fruit.

After the fruits had all gone, he went away and didn't come back to the tree.

When he reached his middle ages, he came back to the tree and said to it, "I have been very successful in life.

I have earned a lot of money, I have a huge house and I have found a great wife.

Now I want to travel and see the world."

The tree was now very old, but to help its long time companion, it didn't wait, and said, "Bring a saw, cut off my trunk and make a boat. Then you will see the wonders of the world."

So again, without hesitation the man cut down the tree.

The same tree which he had played on, ate its fruit, laid in its shade; he cut it down and made a boat.

As soon as it was finished, he sailed away and wasn't seen by his people again.

One day, an old man, walked past the tree.

It hadnt recovered from the time he had cut it down. He went up to the tree, but didn't say anything.

He felt the tears coming down from his eyes.

This time the tree spoke in a faint voice, "I'm sorry. I don't have a trunk for you to climb, nor fruit for you to eat, nor branches of shade for you to lie in. All I have now are my deep roots."

The old man whispered, "That's fine. Tree roots are the best place to lie down, snuggle up and sleep after a long life."

The tree symbolizes our parents, and the boy symbolizes us.

The moral of the story is that we make use of our parents like tissue, and use them all up, and don't even give thanks, but they stay with us till the very end.

Imma be by Black Eyes Peas



Imma be

by Black Eyes Peas

Imma be, imma be - imma imma imma be
Imma be, imma be - imma imma imma be
Imma be, imma be - imma imma imma be
Imma be be be be imma imma be
Imma be be be be imma imma be
Imma be be be be imma imma be

[Fergie]
Imma be on the next level
Imma be rockin over that bass treble
Imma be chillin with my mutha mutha crew
Imma be makin all them deals you wanna do (hah)
Imma be up in that maylist flicks
Doin 100 flips, and imma be
Sippin on drinks cause
Imma be shakin my hips
You gon be lickin your lips
Imma be takin them pics
Lookin all fly and shit
Imma be the flyest chick (so fly)
Imma be spreadin my wings
Imma be doin my thing (do it do it - okayy)

Imma imma swing it this way, (imma imma) imma imma swing it that way
This is Fergie-ferg, and imma (imma) be here to say
21 century until the end of the day

Imma be, imma be - imma imma imma be
Imma be, imma be - imma imma imma be

Rich baby quick quick imma imma imma be
The shit baby check me out be
Imma be, imma be
On top, never stop (be be)
Imma be, imma be - imma imma imma be
Imma be, fcukin her
Imma imma imma be - imma be be be imma imma be

[Will.I.Am]
Imma be the upgraded new negro
Imma be the average brother with soul
Imma be world wide international
Imma be in Reo rockin Tokyo
Imma be brilliant with my millions
Loanin out a billion, I get back a trillion
Imma be a brother, but my name ain’t Lemen
Imma be ya banker loading out semen
Honeys in debt, but we bouncin them checks but,
I don’t really mind when they bouncin them checks
Imma be, imma be imma be imma be Rich
Imma be, imma imma be imma imma be
Imma be sick with the flow
When the goal is to rock the whole globe
Imma be the future
Imma be the whole, reason why you wanna come to a show
You can see what I’m rockin
and I’m pickin out a golden

Imma be up in the club
Doin whatever I like
Imma be poppin that bubbly
Cool and livin that good life
Oh let’s make this last forever
partyin when you’re together

On and on and on-and-on-and
On and on and on and on and

Imma be rockin like this (What)
Yall niggas wanna talk shit (But)
Wantin you put it on the blog
Rockin like this my job
We can’t help that we popular
And all these folks want to flock to us
Come to a show and just rock with us
a Million plus with binoculars

Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be
Imma be livin that good life
Imma be livin that good good
Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be
Imma be livin that good life
Imma be livin that good good
Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be
Imma be livin that good life
Imma be livin that good good
Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be
Imma be livin that good life
Imma be livin that good good
Imma be…. Imma be
Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be

[Apl.de.ap]
Imma be, rockin that Apl.de.ap in here
BEP we definite
We on some next level shit
Futuristic musically
Mind will fold with energy
For the soul new-sonicly
Sending positivity
Crossed the world, and seven seas
Taker of our family
Rockin show spectin cheese
Imma be out with my peas
Livin life, livin free
That’s how it’s supposed to be
Come join my festivities
Celebrate like Imma be

Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be
Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be
Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be



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