Sunday Supplement #147 (March 3rd, 2024)
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:
“Life is too short not to celebrate nice moments.”
– Jürgen Klopp
Book of the Week:
Rules of Civility – Amor Towles
New York Times bestselling author Amor Towles’s debut novel Rules of Civility allowed him to retire early and write full-time.
Rules of Civility starts its story on New Year’s Eve in a hole-in-the-wall jazz bar in 1937 New York’s Greenwich Village.
On that night, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent meets Tinker Grey, a handsome banker who catalyzes Katey’s journey into the upper crust of New York society.
This novel reminded me of classic American novels like The Great Gatsby and The Natural. It felt like reading a book from the time it depicted, with beautiful prose as its guide.
I’ve only read this bestselling novel of Towles, but I’m looking forward to reading his other bestselling novels since there was much to appreciate from his first.
Movie of the Week:
The Kirk Jones written and directed film follows the story of a small Irish village after one of their citizens is reported to have won the Irish National Lottery.
Elderly best friends Jake O’Shea and Michael O’Sullivan, played by Ian Bannon and David Kelly, along with Jackie’s wife Annie (Fionnula Flanagan), plot to discover the winner’s identity.
After finding local resident Ned Devine dead at home holding the lottery ticket, Jackie has a dream that the deceased Ned wants to share the winnings with his friends.
What follows is a hilarious comedy where the whole village bands together to attempt to convince a Claim Inspector Michael is Ned Devine.
The film had a budget of $3 million and went on to make $55.3 million at the box office. I found it a charming story that celebrates life with a good dose of humor in the mix.
Brainfood of the Week:
Celebrate Every Day | Marlo Anderson | TEDxFargo
Marlo Anderson is the founder of National Day Calendar, host of the Tech Ranch, and has been involved in many local and state committees in North Dakota.
In this TEDx video, Anderson discusses the importance of celebrating every day. He talks about how when we are young, we are more adventurous but can become more secluded as we get older.
The National Day Calendar celebrates one new thing each day, with the aim to cultivate appreciation and break you out of an unconscious routine.
Celebrating each day comes with a perspective shift that helps you tap into the positive possibilities of events around you, regardless of whether the event is good or bad.
The video is a great reminder of how we can choose to celebrate more if we want and that our actions and attitudes can spread to the environment and people around us.
Closing Spiritual Passage:
“Therefore, one should not be negligent, nor be addicted to sensual pleases; for he who is established in mindfulness, through cultivation of tranquility and insight development practice, experiences supreme happiness.”
– Dhammapada 27
When I first came across this Dhammapada verse, I thought it was a bit of a downer. Some translations read, “Unwise, foolish people waste their lives celebrating auspicious times.”
After reflecting on the verse, I saw the importance of the words around addiction and relating celebration and appreciation to only sensual pleasures or favorable moments.
I think what the verse aims to instill is a practice of being balanced in good times and bad and not being carried away by either.
By achieving this type of balance, I believe we can appreciate and celebrate the little moments in life that we often overlook.
We can still and should celebrate our big achievements, but the celebrations themselves and momentous occasions shouldn’t be our focus.
Look to celebrate and appreciate the little things you experience each day, and have a blessed week ahead!