Marcel Proust, Tigana, The Banshees of Inisherin, Richard Reeves, and a Bhagavad Gita Verse

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Sunday Supplement #111 (June 25th, 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:

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

– Marcel Proust

Book of the Week:

Tigana – Guy Gavriel Kay

Guy Gavriel Kay provides a grand epic of magic, politics, friendship, war, and the power of love and hate in his 600-page fantasy standalone novel.

The book follows the history of a land on a planet orbited by two moons. The story takes place on the Peninsula of the Palm, which like medieval Italy, comprises provinces with a shared culture and language.

Two powerful sorcerers control the land, and one casts a curse over it, which removes the name and history of part of the land from the people’s minds.

Only those born before the curse remember Tigana, and a group of rebels aim to free the land from the grips of the sorcerer.

I’m a huge fantasy genre fan, but I don’t always like to read a series that the genre tends to gear toward. This solo novel offers an excellent and complete story worth checking out.

Movie of the Week:

The Banshees of Inisherin

Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin didn’t do well at the box office but received nine Academy Award nominations.

The film follows two lifelong friends who find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for them both.

Colin Farrell, Brendon Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan star in this excellent film that explores the purpose of life, friendship, and critiques the history of Ireland.

The Banshees of Inisherin isn’t a movie you should throw on if you’re looking for a popcorn flick to pass the time.

If you give it a chance, look at the movie’s themes and how they provide us with a story that allows us to reflect on how we live our lives.

Brainfood of the Week:

The Friendship Recession | Richard Reeves | Big Think

Richard Reeves is a British American writer, scholar and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

In this video, he opens with the comment that some studies suggest that being without a close friend, being lonely, is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Richard Reeves goes on to explain the friendship recession we’re in, the value of friendships, and what we’re losing if we don’t cultivate meaningful friendships.

The video is an intriguing look at how significant a role friendships play in our lives and how one of the hardest things we can admit is that we need a friend.

Big Think is the channel that hosts the video. They are a leading source of expert-driven, actionable, and educational content. Check out their other videos if you liked this one.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Let a man lift himself by his own Self alone, and not let him lower himself; for, this Self alone is the friend of oneself, and this Self is the enemy of oneself.”

– Bhagavad Gita 6:5

I’ve picked this verse from the Bhagavad Gita in a post about friendship because I believe we are responsible for cultivating our worlds.

This passage highlights how we can be our own best friend or worst enemy. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have friends, but we can be the ones that prevent that from happening.

Friendship is a crucial part of our lives, but it is up to us to cultivate an environment where we allow friendships to flourish.

Sometimes we must work on ourselves first to allow space for those around us to come into our lives.

Be grateful for your friends, nourish those friendships, and have a blessed week ahead!