Sunday Supplement #109 (June 11th, 2023)
Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.
Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!
Quote of the Week:
“Choose to focus your time, energy, and conservation around people who inspire you, support you, and help you grow into your happiest, strongest, wisest self.”
– Karen Salmansohn
Book of the Week:
Walking to Listen – Andrew Forsthoefel
Forsthoefel’s book recounts his decision to walk across America with the intention of listening to the stories of the people he encounters along the way.
After graduating college, Forsthoefel wasn’t quite sure what to do next and decided to take a year off to walk across the United States and hopefully have a meaningful experience.
Forsthoefel acknowledged he was able to embark on this journey in part because of his privilege as a young white man, but the people he met had many diverse perspectives.
The people who help Forsthoefel along the way, either by giving him a place to rest or sharing some wisdom from a life with much more experience, make the book an interesting read.
I didn’t think the book was amazing. However, I recommend it with a grain of salt because of the people Forsthoefel encountered and the concept and execution of his journey.
Movie of the Week:
Disney’s Lilo & Stitch is about a young girl who adopts a ‘dog’ from a local shelter, unaware that it’s a supposedly alien science experiment that’s taken refuge on Earth.
The young girl, Lilo, attempts to connect with the alien, Stitch, and protect him from his creators and the Galactic Federation, who chases him.
Stitch learns about the Hawaiian concept of ‘ohana – extended family’ from Lilo and must reconsider his violent nature to keep his newfound family together.
Lilo & Stitch was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, but it was unlucky to be up against Spirited Away (which I covered in Sunday Supplement #25).
That being said, the film packs a wonderful combination of drama, comedy, and action and is a movie that stands out over the years as one to remember.
Brainfood of the Week:
Helping Others Makes Us Happy – But How We Do It Matters | TED Talks – Elizabeth Dunn
Elizabeth Dunn is a social psychologist and Professor of Social Psychology at the University of British Columbia.
In her studies on generosity and joy, Dunn found a catch to helping others and the effect on the giver— how we help matters.
Early in her career, Dunn published a paper about how spending money on others promotes happiness. However, she found that the conclusion didn’t seem to apply to her.
The TED Talk focuses on Dunn’s subsequent research and findings of how connection and seeing a difference matters in our experience of helping others.
Dunn’s video is a thought-provoking watch, and while its context is focused on a larger charity level, I think it has interesting parallels to engaging with others daily.
Closing Spiritual Passage:
“Generous persons will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”
– Proverbs 11:25
This Bible passage is shown to be true through scientific experiments like the one in the Brainfood of the Week above.
While I think much of the Bible’s wisdom comes in metaphors, it’s interesting to see the cases when science backs it up.
That being said, I tend to find many layers to different spiritual sayings and find it worthwhile to see if you can view them from different perspectives.
For me, this verse is a reminder that helping others will also lift you up. But it also reminds me that it is good to let others help you as well.
Keep those who want to support you around as friends and family but remember to reach out to others and give them a chance. And have a blessed week ahead!
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