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Tag: The Vietnam War

Marie Kondo, The Quiet American, Children of Men, Eckhart Tolle, and an African Proverb

Marie Kondo, The Quiet American, Children of Men, Eckhart Tolle, and an African Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on November 3, 2024

Sunday Supplement #182 (November 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:

“Have gratitude for the things you’re discarding. By giving gratitude, you’re giving closure to the relationship with that object, and by doing so, it becomes a lot easier to let go.”

– Marie Kondo

Book of the Week:

The Quiet American – Graham Greene

Graham Greene’s The Quiet American is narrated in the first person by journalist Thomas Fowler and depicts the breakdown of French colonialism in Vietnam and early American involvement in the Vietnam War.

A central subplot to the narrative involves a love triangle between Fowler, a Vietnamese woman named Phoung, and an American CIA agent named Alden Pyle.

Greene’s novel questions the American involvement in Vietnam in the 1950s and explores the subject through its three main characters.

The novel, published in 1955, received much recognition due to its exploration of American involvement in the War, given its eventual outcome.

I featured Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana in Sunday Supplement #153. I’m grateful I’ve come across his writing and highly recommend his books.

Movie of the Week:

Children of Men

Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men, based on the Phyllis Dorothy James novel, tells the story of a world set in 2027 that struggles to survive after women have become infertile.

A former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea amid a world in chaos.

The film features standout leading performances from Clive Owen and Clare-Hope Ashley and a brilliant supporting cast that includes Michael Kane, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Julianne Moore.

The Children of Men is an excellently crafted story and a wild viewing experience. I’ve only seen this film a couple of times, but it sticks in your memory.

Brainfood of the Week:

Practicing Gratitude for the Present Moment | Eckhart Tolle

I’ve featured Eckhart Tolle in previous Sunday Supplements and may have featured the longer source from which this week’s clip originates.

I’m highlighting this short clip because I believe it addresses a crucial misunderstanding of common experiences of practicing gratitude.

Tolle discusses how being grateful for what you have puts you in a state of comparison. Instead, Tolle suggests shifting toward appreciation in the present moment.

It’s an interesting one-minute lesson worth pondering. If you enjoy it, I’d recommend checking out Tolle’s work.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“A cat that dreams of becoming a lion must lose its appetite for rats.”

– African Proverb

This African proverb reminded me of the old habits that had helped me in the past but were no longer helpful as I grew older.

I believe it is easy to get stuck in an old routine because it can be safe, familiar, and comfortable. At certain points in our lives, these habits can help us, but if we wish to grow, we must embrace change.

One of my friends taught me a helpful exercise for letting go of old habits. It involves recognizing that the behaviors were there to help us deal with a certain part of our lives, being thankful but acknowledging they no longer serve us, and committing to moving forward.


Be grateful for the things that have helped you survive, continue to grow, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Michael Crichton, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Mulan, Ken Burns, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Michael Crichton, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Mulan, Ken Burns, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on January 15, 2023

Sunday Supplement #88 (January 15th, 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:

“If you don’t know history, you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”

– Michael Crichton

Book of the Week:

The Hero With a Thousand Faces – Joseph Campbell

In The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Campbell shows his research into the many different cultures and how many mythologies contain portions or the entirety of “the hero’s adventure.”

The book can read like a textbook at times, but the research he composed is a fascinating look at the stories from many different cultures across history.

Campbell’s work also offers an interesting look at how these stories shaped our ancestors and how they guided their people.

Portions of the book discuss how these roots are present in today’s society but have also been lost in many cases.

I featured Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth in Sunday Supplement #26, which is a lighter dive into Campbell’s work. Check out whichever calls to you!

Movie of the Week:

Mulan

Disney’s 1998 version of Mulan follows a young woman who secretly takes the place of her elder conscripted father in the Imperial Chinese Army’s defense against the invading Huns.

The script and characters are expertly woven to create an entertaining and meaningful story about identity, culture, war, and family.

The Academy Awards didn’t have a category for Best Animated Feature in 1998, but Mulan was still nominated for one Oscar, Best Music. It could have easily won Best Animated Feature if the category had been around then.

Mulan stands out in the Disney annuls as one of their best and should be on anyone’s watch list if they’re looking for a fun, meaningful, and comedic animated adventure.

Brainfood of the Week:

Ken Burns – Documentaries

Instead of a specific video this week, I’m highlighting the work of documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. 

Burns’s work is often produced with the National Endowment for the Humanities and is distributed by PBS.

His documentary series cover a wide array of events and pieces of history. Some of his most known series are The Vietnam War, The National Parks, and The Statue of Liberty.

Instead of putting forth a specific series, I’ll put a link here to the catalog of his work. Check it out and see which one piques your interest.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Worshippers of the celestial gods take birth amongst the celestial gods, worshippers of the ancestors go to the ancestors, worshippers of ghosts take birth amongst such beings, and My devotees come to Me alone.”

– Bhagavad Gita 9:25

This passage from the Bhagavad Gita is an interesting look at how what we worship is often where we end up.

In this verse, the Bhagavad Gita discusses the destinations of the different worshipers of the time, but you could extrapolate this pattern to modern times as well.

In Swami Mukundananda’s commentary on the passage, I thought it was interesting how he spoke about the value of being grateful for our ancestors but how an undue concern for their welfare can be detrimental.

I think it raises a prompt for knowledge and appreciation of what came before us but to learn from our past and move forward.

Learn from the past, choose the direction you want to grow, and have a blessed week ahead!

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