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Tag: Dev Patel

Hilaire Belloc, Into the Wild, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The School of Life, and an Ethiopian Proverb

Hilaire Belloc, Into the Wild, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The School of Life, and an Ethiopian Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on November 5, 2023

Sunday Supplement #130 (November 5th, 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:

“We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.”

– Hilaire Belloc

Book of the Week:

Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer

The story of Chris McCandless was first recounted by Jon Krakauer in his Outside article titled “Death of an Innocent” before writing the non-fiction book Into the Wild.

Krakauer’s writing of McCandless covers his time after graduating from Emory University in 1991 and his subsequent journey of hitchhiking across America and pursuing an ascetic life.

The book and story are an interesting exploration of trying to find your place in life in relation to being an active member of society and an exploration of man vs nature.

Sean Penn directed an adaptation of Into the Wild starring Emile Hirsch. The movie is worth watching, but the book is able to explore the story with more depth and accuracy.

While there are some critics of the book and story of Chris McCandless, Into the Wild is worth the read and offers a story worth reflecting on.

Movie of the Week:

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Ol Parker adapted Deborah Moggach’s novel Foolish Things to the screenplay that became The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

John Madden directed the film about British retirees moving to Jaipur, India, to stay in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

The British retirees move to the hotel, believing it to be an exotic retirement home, but find out the hotel is a dilapidated site run by a good-hearted but inept Sonny Kapoor.

Each retiree has their own reason for moving to Jaipur, India, and Sonny must pursue his dream of being a hotel manager against the admonishments from his family.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a fun movie with a heartfelt story. The cast alone of Dev Patel, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, and Tom Wilkinson make it worth the watch.

Brainfood of the Week:

The Point of Travel | The School of Life

The School of Life makes content from psychologists, philosophers, and writers devoted to helping people lead calmer and more reliant lives.

At the beginning of the video, The School of Life states the point of travel is to make us into better people and be a sort of therapy.

The video emphasizes life’s attempt at an inner journey being aided by outer journeys. It highlights how travel used to be used more often as a health prescription and how we should be more aware of how we travel in modern times.

If you enjoyed this video, check out the other posts where I’ve featured The School of Life videos.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“To one who does not know, a small garden is a forest.”

– Ethiopian Proverb

When I came across this Ethiopian proverb, I thought it was an excellent metaphor for ignorance.

Traveling and listening to other perspectives are excellent ways to not find yourself living in an echo chamber of self-serving biases.

This Ethiopian Proverb reminds me not to get lost in my own garden of thought and to continue exploring other forests.

On the other hand, I think being able to appreciate a garden and finding the wonder in little things is a reminder to see beauty in simplicity.

Travel, explore outside your comfort zone, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Amit Kalantri, War and Peace, Lion, Improvement Pill, and a Japanese Proverb

Amit Kalantri, War and Peace, Lion, Improvement Pill, and a Japanese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on January 1, 2023

Sunday Supplement #86 (January 1st, 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.

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

Quote of the Week:

“A birth-date is a reminder to celebrate the life as well as to update the life.”

– Amit Kalantri

Book of the Week:

War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

When Covid-19 first settled in, I decided to go to my bookshelf and tackle the volumes I had bought but had ignored over the years. I’m glad I finally got to War and Peace.

The book was first published in 1869 after being published serially in the years before. It has survived and been considered a classic for almost 200 years because of its quality.

War and Peace mixes a fictional narrative with historical events of France’s invasion of Russia and the impact of the war on Tsarist society.

Tolstoy follows five Russian aristocratic families throughout the book and brilliantly captures the lifetime of the characters.

The book offers an incredible glimpse of humanity and all of the celebrations and struggles of the characters. If the book has ever piqued your interest, check it out.

Movie of the Week:

Lion

A five-year-old boy, Saroo, gets separated from his brother one night and can’t find his way home. An Australian couple ends up adopting him, and 25 years later, Saroo sets out to find his lost family.

The film is based on the true story of Saroo Brierley and his book A Long Way Home. The book was adapted by Luke Davies and directed by Garth Davis.

Lion follows the periods of the young Saroo getting lost and his older counterpart, grown up and wanting to reconnect with his past.

While the young actors perform amazingly in their roles, Dev Patel shines as the adult Saroo. The story’s weight rests on his shoulders, and he carries it brilliantly.

Lion was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (for Patel— not Lead Role for some bizarre reason), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The film didn’t win any Oscars in a great year of Cinema, but it should have. And it’s definitely worth a place in the history of great films.

Brainfood of the Week:

This Simple Idea Will Make You Happier | Improvement Pill

The theme of this week’s post is celebrating your wins and setting new goals. This Improvement Pill video is fantastic for helping you create a positive game plan.

I won’t spoil the beginning of the video, but it should get you to watch the rest of the five-minute clip.

The video then explains how our internal “translator” is responsible for how we perceive the events of our lives. If we have a negative setting, we get negative experiences, while a positive setting creates positive experiences.

And one of the best things about the video is its follow-through of showing how you can change your settings.

I’ve featured Improvement Pill in three previous Sunday Supplements. Their channel has over three million subscribers and focuses on teaching practices that can help change your life.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“With hardship comes pleasure, and with pleasure comes hardships.” (苦あれば楽あり)

– Japanese Proverb

This Japanese proverb was a fun one to dissect. At first glance, I thought of the example of completing a task and the good feeling that comes afterward.

The second half of the proverb reminded me that some good things are worth the hardship required to achieve them. 

And when I look at the proverb in its entirety, I see that hardships can be a blessing and sometimes bring out the best in you.

Take stock of your life, appreciate what you’ve accomplished, look at what you want to achieve and what you want to eliminate moving forward, and have a blessed year ahead!

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Brené Brown, The War of Art, Slumdog Millionaire, Weiyang Xie, and a Rig Veda Passage

Brené Brown, The War of Art, Slumdog Millionaire, Weiyang Xie, and a Rig Veda Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on January 23, 2022

Sunday Supplement #37 (January 23rd, 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:

“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.”

– Brené Brown

Book of the Week:

The War of Art – Steven Pressfield

Steven Pressfield’s life story is incredible. He was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, while his father was stationed in the Navy in 1943. Pressfield graduated from Duke University and joined the Marine Corps afterward.

After his tour in the service, Pressfield bounced around between jobs like advertising copywriter, tractor-trailer driver, oilfield roustabout, and fruit picker. He finally found his calling as an author and screenwriter but experienced periods of homelessness and living out of the back of his car while pursuing his writing career.

In The War of Art, Pressfield details the obstacles he faced in his life and how they led him to find and follow his passion for writing. His book breaks down into three parts: Resistance, Combatting Resistance, and Beyond Resistance. In each section, he titles an example of how each topic can manifest and provides short blurbs of explanation.

The non-fiction/self-help book divides opinions for most readers, but it has a 3.98 rating out of 5 on Goodreads, with over 85,000 reviews. Pressfield is most famous for his novels The Legend of Bagger Vance and Gates of Fire, a book about the Battle of Thermopylae studied at West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy.

The War of Art might not be for everybody, but it is worth checking out.

Movie of the Week:

Slumdog Millionaire 

Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire narrates the story of an orphan Mumbai teenager who’s a contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire as he gets accused of cheating after answering each question correctly.

While the teenager, Jamal, faces each question, he recalls portions of his life story that explain how he knew the answer.

The 2008 film won eight Oscars, including Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Achievement in Directing for Boyle, and Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay for Simon Beaufoy.

Leading man Dev Patel missed out on an Academy Award nomination for his performance, but moviegoers and film-lovers didn’t overlook his acting abilities. Patel has gone on to star in many acclaimed movies since his feature debut, including films like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Green Knight, and his Oscar-nominated performance in Lion.

Slumdog Millionaire shows the negativity, oppression, criticism, and bribery Patel faces in his stint on the famous show. The ultimate result of his perseverance is a reminder of the blessings of our life’s journeys and what they can teach us.

Brainfood of the Week:

TEDx Talks | Dare to Rewire Your Brain for Self-Compassion | Weiyang Xie 

Weiyang Xie is a Staff Psychologist at the University Counseling Center at Notre Dame. When she first came to the US as an international student, she faced adjustment issues, self-doubt, and struggled with anxiety. These issues carried over to her professional life. 

Xie’s negative self-talk took over and became overwhelming. She felt trapped in her anxiety and believed that she couldn’t reach her potential. Xie started to look into how this situation developed and found a common component in people’s anxiety being shame.

In this TEDx Talks, Xie discusses the causes and effects of shame in people’s lives and her journey of discovery in this field. She focuses on how neurobiological studies on shame revealed how neural pathways form from the repetition of habitual negative self-talk. 

Xie then explains how we can resolve the emotional status quo. Research proves that being compassionate to yourself improves emotional resilience and psychological well-being. This practice helps reduce cortisol levels and lower the levels of depression and anxiety.

Beginning practices like noticing negative self-talk and combatting it with self-compassion can remove the previous mental programming and replace it with healthier thought habits. Motivating yourself through positive self-talk and embracing being a work in progress helps bring positivity for the future.

Xie closes the talk by stating that whatever you are saying to yourself, you listen. Developing positive self-talk is crucial for mental health and well-being.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“The human body is the temple of God. One who kindles the light of awareness within gets true light. The sacred flame of your inner shrine is constantly bright. The experience of unity is the fulfillment of human endeavors. The mysteries of life are revealed.”

– A Rig Veda Passage

Many different religions and spiritual practices talk about the light within. For me, this passage from the Rig Veda exemplifies this notion and gives a roadmap for finding that brilliance.

The message starts with the acknowledgment of our bodies holding spiritual power. Whether you believe in God or not, or something else entirely, the body is a miraculous being.

The Rig Veda passage then reveals that listening to your heart and body allows for true light, true knowledge.

There are many ways to translate this passage or gain meaning from the words. It sparks recognition of following your heart and gut and doing your best. When I am in tune with these elements, I find myself happy and with no regrets.

Regardless of spiritual leanings, becoming attuned with your heart and body is something worth cultivating. This passage from the Rig Veda is a brilliant guide and reminder of this practice.

Listen to your heart, be kind to yourself, and have a blessed week ahead!

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