Sunday Supplement #138 (December 31st, 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:
“Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.”
– Jackie Robinson
Book of the Week:
A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson
In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson recounts his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail and his decision to traverse it, accompanied by his old friend Stephen Katz.
The pair are not suited to the long journey of the trail and end up discarding much of their starting load.
Their journey includes some history and ecology of the trail, funny encounters with humans and animals, and some honesty about their abilities and the overall outcome of the trek.
I read A Walk in the Woods while I was still in high school. I remember it being one of the first books to make me laugh out loud, almost every chapter.
Movie of the Week:
True Grit tells the story of a stubborn teenage girl, Mattie Ross, as she tracks down her father’s murderer with help from a U.S. Marshall and a Texas Ranger.
Hailey Steinfeld made her feature debut as Mattie Ross, Jeff Bridges played the U.S. Marshall, Matt Damon the Texas Ranger, and Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper the villains.
The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
I haven’t seen the original True Grit with John Wayne, but Ethan and Joel Coen’s 2010 remake is one of my favorite Westerns.
Brainfood of the Week:
The Power of Radical Honesty | Dr. Anna Lembke | After Skool
Dr. Anna Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, has published over a hundred peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries, and sits on the board of several state and national addiction-focused organizations.
In this video, Lembke focuses on how telling the truth improves our lives. She explains how radical honesty helps limit compulsive overconsumption and can be the core of a well-lived life.
We are wired at an early age to lie. The wiring fluctuates as we grow older, and we can gravitate toward honesty, but the temptations of lying can be exacerbated in modern society.
Lembke explains how radical honesty combats the pitfalls of lying, promotes awareness of our actions, and fosters intimate human connections. I can’t recommend the video more highly.
After Skool is a YouTube channel that animates videos as the backdrop to various life lessons presented by various individuals and texts. I’ve featured them in two other Sunday Supplements.
Closing Spiritual Passage:
“Good medicine tastes bitter.”
– Japanese Proverb
I think this Japanese proverb is pretty straightforward, but I like the reminder that what might be best for you doesn’t always go down well at first.
Advice and honest assessment can be this way. It can be difficult to critique your decisions openly or to take advice that may be hard to follow.
However, I think this proverb has another side that can argue that medicine that will get the job done doesn’t have to be bitter.
I think it’s important to know when to deliver news starkly or with a little cushion to it, but bitter medicine shouldn’t be avoided when necessary.
Take an honest look at your past year, make actionable plans to improve your 2024, and have a blessed year ahead!