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Tag: Cannes Film Festival

Omar Khayyam, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Perfect Days, Einzelgänger, and a Tao Te Ching Verse

Sunday Supplement #170 (August 11th, 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:

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

– Omar Khayyam

Book of the Week:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert M. Pirsig

Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a fictionalized autobiography of a 17-day motorbike journey with his son in 1968.

During the trip, the father examines how we live as a species and meditates on the meaning of quality. He recounts an earlier form of himself’s pursuits of this information and how he views the experience of life at the present moment.

Pirsig’s book is dense, and I recommend it only for those interested in tackling a challenging read.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance received 121 rejections before being accepted by a publisher who didn’t believe the book would sell. It’s sold over 5 million copies so far.

Movie of the Week:

Perfect Days

The Wim Wenders film written by Takuma Takasaki and Wenders follows the life of Hiriyama, a man who cleans public toilets in Tokyo, lives a life in simplicity, and encounters that lead him to reflect on himself.

I found it a slow-burn story with a powerful reflection of life. Sometimes, people watch movies for intense action with extreme highs and despairing lows. This isn’t that kind of movie.

Koji Yakusho portrays Hiriyama brilliantly, embodying a man who finds tranquility and beauty in his simple existence yet doesn’t block out the sadness and frustrations of life.

Perfect Days was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Yakusho won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival. It’s a film worth checking out for those whose interest has been piqued.

Brainfood of the Week:

Don’t Worry, Everything is Out of Control | Einzelgänger

Einzelgänger’s YouTube channel creates videos that explore different people and ideas of history with the aim of inspiring, resonating, and entertaining.

In this video, Einzelgänger discusses how our busy lives can lead to stress, exhaustion, and burnout, which can cause illness and depression. He then highlights Taoist writings that offer solutions that can help relieve stress.

There are five different Taoist antidotes Einzelgänger goes over in the video. The two I’ll preview here are to stop looking for happiness and the internal law.

The video explains how worrying about getting or not getting happiness leads us to forever look outside of ourselves for it. The internal law explains how it’s not the world that decides how we feel; it’s our minds.

I’ve featured Einzelgänger’s channel in previous Sunday Supplements. If you enjoyed this video, check out the other posts or his channel on YouTube.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Nature doesn’t make long speeches. A whirlwind doesn’t last all morning. A cloudburst doesn’t last all day. Who makes the wind and rain? Heaven and earth do. If heaven and earth don’t go on and on, certainly people don’t need to.”

– Tao Te Ching (Verse 23)

The Tao Te Ching is a central Taoist text associated with the philosopher Lao Tzu. Taoism holds that humans should live in balance with the universe (the Tao – the Way).

In this verse of the Tao Te Ching, I’m reminded to live in the moment. We can often get lost in thoughts of the past or worries of the future, but our world exists in the present.

I don’t believe we should completely ignore the past and future. Gathering clouds can be plans for the future, and storms can leave destruction in their path to remember them by.

However, this verse reminds us not to dwell too long on events outside our immediate control. It’s nice to connect to the moment you’re in.


Remember to ground yourself in the present moment when you’ve been caught up in a narrative that has pulled you away from it, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Helen Keller, Mindfulness, In the Mood for Love, Why Silence is Power, and Sahih al-Bukhari 6126

Sunday Supplement #61 (July 10th, 2022)

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.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.”

– Helen Keller

Book of the Week:

Mindfulness – Mark Williams and Danny Penman

Oxford professor Mark Williams is one of the leading thinkers on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. He teamed up with award-winning journalist Danny Penman to write Mindfulness.

The book explains simple and straightforward practices from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to help dissolve anxiety, stress, exhaustion, and unhappiness.

Mindfulness’s subtitle is An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World

The mindfulness meditation program is broken down and explained in a way anyone can do. The time the practice requires is only 10-20 minutes per day.

One of my favorite things about this book is that it doesn’t rely on spirituality or religion to explain the benefits of meditation.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that many spiritual traditions include meditation, but I find it promising that science has found a way to separate the practice from religion.

There are many different books, apps, and videos that explain and provide lessons for meditation. It’s worth checking Mindfulness out to see if it resonates for you.

Movie of the Week:

In the Mood for Love

One of my favorite films is Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love. It tells the story of two neighbors who befriend each other after suspecting the extramarital activities of their spouses.

The film beautifully shows the platonic relationship of the two neighbors as they question and reenact situations they believe formed their spouses’ relationship.

Everything in the movie is choreographed exquisitely. The music and the cinematography enhance the brilliant acting from leads Maggie Cheung and Tony Chui-Wai Leung.

The film premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 2000 and received a nomination for the Palme d’Or. Tony Leung won Best Actor, becoming the first Hong Kong actor to win the award.

Much of the movie is explored through scenes without dialogue. Some of the best sequences occur through close attention to mannerisms and non-verbal exchanges.

I’ve found that there aren’t many movies that leave lasting impressions on their viewers. This movie is one that I find myself often visiting over the years.

In the Mood for Love is well worth checking out if you’re looking for a movie that explores the human experience in a subtle and profound manner.

Brainfood of the Week:

Why Silence is Power | Priceless Benefits of Being Silent | Einzelgänger

Einzelgänger is a YouTube channel that creates videos exploring different people and ideas of history with the aim of making content that inspires, resonates, and entertains.

I’ve featured three of Einzelgänger’s videos in previous Sunday Supplements. 

This video explores the advantages of silence in creativity, mental health, spiritual and religious practice, and other everyday situations. It breaks down into four parts.

Silence can also send a powerful message. In conversation, pausing or choosing not to speak can give a person strength. In protest, silence can express what discourse cannot.

Studies have shown that silence relaxes the mind, enhances sleep, and lessens insomnia. Excessive input of noise is detrimental to our ability to function.

All of these topics are explored in more depth in the video. On the surface, the necessity of silence is obvious, but Einzelgänger’s video has many insights worth picking up.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak what is good or keep silent.”

– Sahih al-Bukhari 6126

Sahih al-Bukhari is one of the six major collections of Hadith, based on the Islamic prophet Muhammed’s teachings, sayings, traditions, and practices.

The whole passage starts with, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not hurt his neighbor. The second part says whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should serve his guest generously.

The third and last part of the passage is the one I’ve highlighted above. It reminds me of the saying, “If you can’t say something kind, don’t say anything.”

Words have much power, but I believe silence equally holds great power. Many great speeches exist, but a single word or silence can be just as profound.

The passage above from the Hadith reminds me that speaking isn’t always necessary. Silence is a tool that can be louder than words.

Explore and look for moments of silence, and have a blessed week ahead!

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