Skip to content

Tag: Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?, The Iron Giant, Mark Kelly, and a Japanese Proverb

Sunday Supplement #181 (October 27th, 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:

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”

– Lao Tzu

Book of the Week:

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? – Dr. Julie Smith

Clinical psychologist Dr. Julie Smith answered a patient’s question, “Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?” with this debut novel.

Smith discusses while some people need and could benefit from a trained psychologist or psychiatrist, there are many everyday tools that you can use to help improve your mental health outside of a therapist’s office.

Psychologists use these tools to help their patients, and Smith wanted to write a book that shares the basics for anyone to pick up.

I’ve encountered most of the principles and teachings in Smith’s book, but I think it’s an excellent guide for those interested in taking control of their mental well-being.

Movie of the Week:

The Iron Giant

Brad Bird (writer/director of Ratatouille and The Incredibles) made his first writer/director debut with the 1999 animated film The Iron Giant.

The story is set during the Cold War in the 1950s and follows a young boy, Hogart, who befriends a giant alien robot from outer space. A paranoid government agent leads the charge of finding and destroying Hogart’s new friend.

Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel, and Christopher McDonald are just a few of the voice actors involved in the production.

Although The Iron Giant flopped at the box office, it went on to become a classic in animation. I highly recommend checking it out.

Brainfood of the Week:

How One Act of Kindness a Day Can Change Your Life | TEDx – Mark Kelly

Mark Kelly’s podcast What I Know Now introduces listeners to inspirational leadership and personal development stories.

In this video, Kelly discusses his journey of looking for more ways to perform acts of kindness and how that benefits the giver as well as the receiver.

The TEDx Talk is a six-minute video, but it’s an interesting story with an important message about incorporating acts of kindness into your day for yourself and others.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“One kind word will warm for three months of winter.” (つの優しい言葉は冬の三カ月を温める)

– Japanese Proverb

This Japanese proverb has a fairly straightforward message of how kind words can have positive effects long after they are spoken.

However, I particularly enjoy the words used to describe the effect of one kind word spoken. For me, winter in this proverb describes a time when you are isolated, and the warmth of a kind word offers connection, comfort, and hope.

The proverb reminds me of moments when someone has gone out of their way to say something kind to me. They may never know the impact of their actions, but I remember how much they helped, and I try to pass that on when I can.


Look for moments where you can be kind, and have a blessed week ahead!

Leave a Comment

Carl Jung, Ikigai, Napoleon Dynamite, The School of Life, and a Tao Te Ching Verse

Sunday Supplement #156 (May 5th, 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:

“The most intense conflicts, if overcome, leave behind a sense of security and calm that is not easily disturbed. It is just these intense conflicts and their conflagration which are needed to produce valuable and lasting results.”

– Carl Jung

Book of the Week:

Ikigai – Héctor García and Francesc Miralles

I kept passing Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Healthy Life when I went to Barnes and Noble. The self-help book is an international bestseller, selling over 2 million copies.

I finally picked up the book and found the concept of ikigai— a reason for living — what you love, what you’re good at, what you get paid for, and what the world needs all overlap.

The book’s authors interviewed residents of a Japanese village with the highest percentage of 100-year-olds and delved into the secret of their longevity.

I found some of the concepts explored in the book well-worth reading. That being said, the book came off as oddly mashed together. The chapters didn’t flow, and some worked while others didn’t.

Ikigai is a book that I’d recommend to people new to the self-help genre or interested in picking out some of its worthwhile chapters.

Movie of the Week:

Napoleon Dynamite

Jared and Jerusha Hess wrote the 2004 cult classic Napoleon Dynamite. Jon Heder became a breakout star in the leading role of Napoleon.

The movie follows a socially awkward sixteen-year-old high schooler who lives with his grandmother and older brother in Preston, Idaho.

Napoleon helps his new friend run for class president, awkwardly pursues a romantic interest, and deals with bullies.

Napoleon Dynamite wasacquired by Fox Search Searchlight Pictures at Sundance and made $46.1 million at the box office from a $400,000 budget.

I appreciated Napoleon Dynamite because it depicted the awkwardness of high school dynamics and the underlying desire for people to succeed.

Brainfood of the Week:

A West African Philosophy of Calm | The School of Life

This video focuses on the Yoruba people of West Africa’s concept of “itutu.” The Yoruba people inhabit Nigeria, Togo, and Benin, and they believe one of the most flattering ways to describe a person is to say they have much itutu.

Itutu denotes a particular approach to life: unhurried, composed, assured, and unflappable. It isn’t a divine gift. It is a quality that can be cultivated. It’s a particular view of existence.

The Yoruba people believe agitation and anger flow from an overambitious sense of what lies in our power to alter. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel emotions, but your response should be in your power.

I’ve featured around a dozen The School of Life videos in previous Sunday Supplements. They make content from psychologists, philosophers, and writers devoted to helping people lead calmer and more resilient lives.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“By not wanting, there is calm, and the world will straighten itself.”

– Tao Te Ching 37

Lao Tzu was a Chinese philosopher and author of the Tao Te Ching, which became a foundational text of Taoism.

In this verse of the Tao Te Ching, the Way “the Tao” is shown to be something that should be effortless or, at the very least, something you shouldn’t fight.

I’m reminded of how often we can struggle against what happens to us at any given moment. Instead, accepting the present moment brings with it a sense of calm.

By not wanting anything else in the current moment, you are free to enjoy the moment or respond to your situation.

Seek the calmness in being present, do not deny the current moment, and have a blessed week ahead!

Comments closed

Troy Palamalu, Tao Te Ching, Concussion, Jordan Peterson, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Sunday Supplement #143 (February 4th, 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:

“Playing professional sports, it’s important to eat healthy and take care of your body. In the offseason, rest is really important to me.”

– Troy Polamalu

Book of the Week:

Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu (Ursula K. Le Guin)

Lao Tzu was a philosopher of Ancient China and is considered by some the founder of Taoism. The Tao Te Ching is a central Taoist text.

Ursula K. Le Guin studied the Tao Te Ching for over forty years. She consulted the literal translations and worked with Chinese scholars for her translation.

Le Guin’s version has wonderful footnotes of her thoughts on various verses. I’m a huge fan of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author and featured her in Sunday Supplement #44

In verse form, the Tao Te Ching describes the ideal existence, the Tao, the Way. The poems of the text have much beauty and depth.

Though the text is relatively short, I took my time reading it. I found myself pondering the contents of a poem for a while, sometimes putting the book down to let the verse sink in.

Movie of the Week:

Concussion

The 2015 biographical sports drama Concussion stars Will Smith as Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who goes up against the NFL for trying to suppress his research.

Omalu’s work focuses on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) brain degeneration suffered by professional American football players.

Peter Landesman wrote and directed the film based on the exposé “Game Brain” published in GQ magazine by Jeanne Marie Laskas.

Concussion didn’t get the best reviews or make the most money at the box office, but I thought it was a story worth portraying on the screen and that there was much to appreciate.

Brainfood of the Week:

Workaholics and the Importance of Rest | Jordan B. Peterson

I’ve featured Jordan Peterson in a couple of previous Sunday Supplements with the caveat that I don’t agree with everything he says, but his lectures are worth a listen.

Peterson is a clinical psychologist and author of bestselling self-help books and more than one hundred scientific papers.

In this clip, Peterson discusses the necessity of rest. He starts by quoting the Bible’s passage on God’s creation of the world and his resting on the seventh day.

He then discusses the utility of rest. The obvious is not burning yourself out so you can’t get back to work for an extended period. The other aspect I thought interesting was rest gives you a chance to reflect.

Give the video a watch if it piques your interest. You can take away what is useful to you and disregard the rest.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogi if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.”

– Bhagavad Gita 6:16

I think this Bhagavad Gita verse is an interesting insight into the necessity of moderation in our day-to-day lives.

A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga— not solely the physical exercise popular in Western culture, but rather an encompassing group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that aim to still the mind.

Depending on the circumstances, an occasional excess or deprivation seems perfectly reasonable to me.

However, the necessity of regular sleep and a steady diet seems obvious, but it’s something we can often ignore.


Make sure you’re resting appropriately, and have a blessed week ahead!

1 Comment

Bruce Lee, Can’t Hurt Me, Amadeus, The Power of Letting Go, and Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:159

Sunday Supplement #40 (February 13th, 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:

“Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them.”

– Bruce Lee

Book of the Week:

Can’t Hurt Me – David Goggins

I featured David Goggins in the brainfood section of Sunday Supplement #35. In that post, I gave a brief summary of Goggins’s history for the United States Armed Forces and his subsequent journey as one of the world’s top endurance athletes.

The accompanying video in that Supplement is an interview with Goggins on The Rich Roll Podcast. Check out the video, and if you like it, check out this book.

Can’t Hurt Me is a mixture between a self-help/personal development book and an autobiography. Goggins uses stories of his past to show how one can overcome obstacles to create the person one wants to be.

Goggins grew up with poverty, abuse, and racism. He failed at various points in different areas but decided to turn his life around. He went from being overweight and depressed to becoming the only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller.

This book is an excellent insight into how much control we have over our minds and bodies. You don’t have to become an ultra-endurance athlete after reading it, but there is much to take away and learn from.

Movie of the Week:

Amadeus

The 1984 film Amadeus won eight Oscars and is considered one of the best movies in Cinema history.

The film tells a fictional story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart through the eyes of a rival composer, Antonio Salieri. The bitter rival reflects on the career of the genius composer and claims that he was the one who murdered him.

Amadeus was adapted from the stage play of the same name by screenwriter Peter Shaffer. Miloš Forman directed the film, and F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce starred as Salieri and Mozart. 

Every name above won their respective Oscar, except for Hulce because he was nominated in the same category as Abraham. The film also won Best Picture.

Amadeus currently sits at #82 on IMDB’s Top Rated Movies list and boasts above a 90% in both critics and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

Add this movie to your list if you’re looking for an excellent (lengthy) biopic/period piece. It’s one of my favorite films and has an epic soundtrack.

Brainfood of the Week:

Einzelgänger | Taoism – The Power of Letting Go

In Sunday Supplement #20, I featured an Einzelgänger video as the brainfood of the week. The channel creates videos that explore different people and ideas of history with the aim of making content that inspires, resonates, and entertains.

In this video, Einzelgänger discusses the idea of control in our modern society. He then offers an insight into Taoism and its philosophy of letting go. 

The first way of Taoism Einzelgänger highlights is the art of non-doing. He breaks it down to knowing when to act and when not to. Control can be what combats effortless action or a flow state. And while control isn’t always a bad thing, like self-control, too much suffocates growth.

Embracing change is the next topic in the video. “The Living are soft and yielding; the dead are rigid and stiff. Living plants are flexible and tender; the dead are brittle and dry.” —Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, 11.

Not focussing on outcomes is one of the last areas Einzelgänger goes over. When we focus too much on the future, we tend to paralyze ourselves in the present with anxiety. 

Einzelgänger goes into greater depth with these philosophies, and the beautiful video is well worth checking out. I provide the above to give a glimpse at what the video offers, but give it a watch and see if you take anything away from it.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them, and had you been harsh and hard-hearted, surely they would have scattered from around you. So excuse them, and plead for forgiveness for them, and consult them in the affairs, and once you are resolved, put your trust in Allah.”

– Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:159

In this passage from the Quran, I’m reminded of the power of forgiveness. The two statements show the possibility of alienation if you’re too harsh and the power of resolution if you seek to forgive.

I believe that forgiveness can be for yourself as well as others. If we are too hard on ourselves or repress any negative feelings around ourselves or others, we lose the opportunity for catharsis.

For me, the most important thing is to see and acknowledge what is happening with an open mind. Look to resolve the situation and trust that everything will be okay. 

I believe, if you approach situations with others of yourself in this way, regardless of if you believe in God or not, you can find peace and move forward.

Forgive yourself and someone else, and have a blessed week ahead!

4 Comments

Lao Tzu, The Power of Myth, The Lord of the Rings, Simon Sinek, and the Rig Veda

Sunday Supplement #26 (November 7th, 2021)

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:

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

– Lao Tzu

Book of the Week:

The Power of Myth – Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers

In 1988, PBS aired a six-episode series composed of interviews with Joseph Campbell. The companion book was released at the same time the series aired. The Power of Myth book has additional discussions not included in the original six-hour docuseries, but it follows a similar format.

The book is based on the interviews between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers. The discussion revolves around Campbell’s lifework in mythology and human history. Campbell uses his own life story and the knowledge of different civilizations’ myths and cultures to present the idea of a global story we all follow— the Hero’s Journey. 

Campbell’s other works, The Hero with a Thousand Faces and The Masks of God, delve more deeply into the Hero’s Journey. However, The Power of Myth gives the main points and discusses how society has experienced struggle due to the loss of mythology and rights of passage in the modern-day.

The Power of Myth is a brilliant read that gives many insights into the universal human experience. It is well worth checking out and seeing if any of the stages apply to your life and how you can move forward.

Movie of the Week:

The Lord of the Rings (Extended Editions)

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote one of the most popular fiction trilogies in history. Peter Jackson adapted the novels into some of the most accomplished movies ever made. The story is fantasy and adventure-based, but there is so much quality that a genre pigeonhole can’t capture the whole experience.

Frodo, a Hobbit from the Shire, and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom to save Middle-Earth from the Dark Lord Sauron. Across the three films, the world of elves, men, and dwarves is explored and intricately woven into the story. The history and relationships of the people in the film are expertly depicted to give the story a more profound experience than a surface-level action flick.

So many details make these films a fantastic experience— too many to delve into in a short post. I’ll focus on two for the rest of this post.

The first is the practical effects of the films. So many movies in modern times rely on computer graphic imaging to create the effects the audience sees on the screen. Sometimes it works, but older films using this technology often appear outdated in recent times. Lord of the Rings has special effects and CGI, but they used many creative camera techniques to film in real-time and create beautiful and complex images on the screen. Fame Focus goes over some of the best effects in the movies that allowed the scale to be filmed, cities to be created, and actions sequences to be executed.

The other thing I want to touch on is the Hero’s Journey archetype of the story. The points in the journey are beautifully constructed and explored. Each character has their own journey, and many are richly created to have a whole arc. The overall story contains each point in the Hero’s Journey and helps to establish a connection with the audience. Even if you don’t like fantasy, there is something in these films that can resonate with you.

The extended editions are wonderful and fully encapsulate Tolkien’s stories, but either of Jackson’s versions is well worth watching.

Brainfood of the Week:

Simon Sinek – The Truth About Being the “Stupidest” Person in the Room

In Sunday Supplement #13, I featured a video from Simon Sinek about the paradox of being human. Sinek is an inspirational speaker and the author of multiple best-selling books.

In this video, Simon Sinek discusses the benefits of being okay with being the stupidest person in the room. He tells a story about a business meeting where he didn’t understand the concept delivered to the room. Sinek was okay with asking the presenter to repeat the presentation, and after a few questions, it was apparent the premise of the demonstration wasn’t straightforward. If he hadn’t spoken up, the rest of the group would have nodded along because they weren’t comfortable with saying they didn’t understand the presentation.

The idea of the video is that by being okay with being seen as dumb, you open the door for knowledge while being brave enough to speak up.

This video is only a couple of minutes long. It’s worth checking out to see if Simon Sinek is something you’d be interested in checking out.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“A person can achieve everything by being simple and humble.”

– from the Rig Veda

This passage from the Hindu Vedas reminds me of the beauty of doing something you love. I’ve looked back on my actions in the past, and a lot of them used to be based on the feedback I hoped to receive. Moving toward doing more of what I love changed how I approached things and gave me more confidence to be myself. I asked myself whether I would still do the task if no one else knew what I was doing. 

Writing, reading, and playing/watching soccer are all things I’ve done on my own. It’s fun to have company, and I enjoy sharing the things I love with others, but I would still do them independently. I believe if you have goals and dreams for making what you love into a career or a profession, you have to market yourself. But I think you should be doing what you love regardless of outside validation or not.

Like the Rig Veda passage, I often find myself the happiest and most successful doing what I love and not caring about the outcome.

Make time to do something you love and have a blessed week ahead!

Comments closed
2021 © Drew Alexander Ross