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Tag: The Visitor

Robert Urich, Breath, Win Win, Little List Project, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Sunday Supplement #123 (September 17th, 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:

“A healthy outside starts from the inside.”

– Robert Urich

Book of the Week:

Breath – James Nestor

Science journalist James Nestor’s Breath is a historical, scientific, and personal examination of breathing, particularly the differences between nasal and mouth breathing.

Nestor investigated how humans shifted from nasal breathing to mouth breathing and how that shift impacted human health.

One of the explanations argues that the shift to mouth breathing was due to the increased consumption of processed foods, which had led to a rise in snoring, sleep apnea, and allergies.

Nestor wrote Breath after ten years of intense research. The book became an international bestseller, selling over two million copies worldwide.

Breath has surprisingly been one of the most helpful books I’ve read in regard to improving my health. I highly recommend it.

Movie of the Week:

Win Win

Tom McCarthy’s Win Win is about a financially struggling small-town lawyer’s chicanery that comes back to haunt him.

Paul Giamatti plays the struggling lawyer, and his haunting comes in the form of a double-crossed client’s grandson.

The film is surprisingly lighthearted in tone, but it is able to craft a narrative that takes a deeper look into facing the question of what’s important in your life.

For those who don’t know Tom McCarthy by name, he is the writer/director of Spotlight, The Station Agent, The Visitor, and Up

Win Win is probably a movie that most people haven’t heard about, but it has a special slice-of-life feel that is worth the watch.

Brainfood of the Week:

Healthy Habits: 10 Daily Habits That Changed My Life | Little List Project

The Little List Project YouTube channel is dedicated to providing simple and practical tips for a daily lifestyle.

In this video are ten tips for leading a healthier lifestyle. Ria, whose background is in nutrition and food engineering, explains how these tips help physical, emotional, and mental health.

Ria explains how she implemented these habits gradually over the years. There’s no pressure to do them all every day, and she highlights doing what you can when you’re stressed.

The video goes over habits like meditation, exercise, and healthy eating, but each tip is explained thoroughly, with research offered as supporting evidence.

Many of these types of videos can be over-simplified or obvious, but I thoroughly enjoyed the breakdown from Ria and highly recommend checking the full video.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“For him who is moderate in food and diversion, whose actions are disciplined, who is moderate in sleep and waking, Yoga destroys all sorrow.”

– Bhagavad Gita 6:17

Yoga is often assumed in the West only to be the practice of physical exercise through various poses. While this is an aspect of Yoga, it isn’t the complete picture.

This Bhagavad Gita passage speaks to the larger mental, spiritual, and physical practices or disciplines to control and still the mind.

The breakdown of different practices in this passage is an excellent guide to living a healthy life, both physically and mentally (and spiritually for those interested).

Maintaining a healthy balance in our lives is essential to being able to combat the sorrows we encounter.

Take productive steps in your mental and physical health, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Walt Whitman, I Am Legend, The Station Agent, How to Be a Good Friend, and 1 Corinthians 15:33

Sunday Supplement #63 (July 24th, 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:

“I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.”

– Walt Whitman

Book of the Week:

I Am Legend – Richard Matheson

If what you know about the story of I Am Legend comes from the 2007 film starring Will Smith, you’ve experienced a version that barely takes anything from the source material.

Richard Matheson’s novel follows Robert Neville, possibly the last living man on Earth. However, he is not alone.

A plague swept across the world and turned those it did not kill into vampires. Neville struggles from isolation, depression, and alcoholism in his attempts to stay alive.

Neville alternates between a hunter in the day when the creatures are asleep and a survivor at night, hoping not to be found.

Eventually, Neville determines there must be a scientific reason behind the vampires’ origins and tries to understand the disease.

Matheson’s I Am Legend (1954) is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential works of modern zombie and vampire literature.

The book might not be for everyone, but for those who would take a recommendation from Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, check it out.

Movie of the Week:

The Station Agent

Tom McCarthy (writer of Up, The Visitor, and Spotlight) made his directing and writing debut with The Station Agent.

The film follows Finbar McBride, played by Peter Dinklage, as Finbar’s only friend dies and bequeaths him a piece of rural property with an abandoned train depot on it.

The antisocial train enthusiast moves to the new town, planning to live in solitude but finding himself reluctantly drawn into the lives of his neighbors.

The Station Agent explores depths of emotions in a thoughtful and sometimes quirky manner that makes it a special film.

In addition to Peter Dinklage’s standout performance, Patricia Clarkson and Bobby Cannavale shine in their supporting roles.

The film won the Audience Award for Dramatic Film at Sundance in 2003, made $8 million on a $500k budget, and boasts a 94% critics rating on RottenTomatoes. 

Brainfood of the Week:

How to Be a Good Friend | The School of Life

I’ve featured The School of Life in four previous Sunday Supplements. Their channel has over 7 million subscribers and aims to help people lead calmer and more resilient lives. 

This video explores the concept of what it means to be a good friend.

The beginning poses that we might not collectively be good at friendship because we don’t have a clear idea of what a good friend might be like.

The School of Life then delves into the areas they think are essential in a good friend.

Some of the areas that are discussed involve vulnerability, genuine interest, support, and questioning.

I think the list may not have what everyone is looking for, but I thought it was an exciting idea to list the attributes of a good friend.

Check out the video if you’d like to see what The School of Life has to say on the subject, and think about what attributes are important to you in friendship.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

– 1 Corinthians 15:33

There are many passages in the bible about friendship, forgiveness, and kindness. I believe those messages are important.

However, this passage reminds me of the dangers of letting standards slip in relationships.

Quotes like these come to mind— “What you’re not changing your choosing,” and “Be careful what you tolerate. You are teaching people how to treat you.”

I think the core of this Corinthians passage is the idea of losing your way and following someone else.

Sometimes, we can get lost and look to others for guidance and support. However, if those people are not aligned with your morals and ideals, you should look elsewhere.

Friends can be in dark places sometimes, and you can be a light for them. But dimming your light or slipping into the darkness to commiserate can be dangerous.

Make sure you are treating yourself kindly and are in a good place. If you’re not, be careful of who and what you have as influences around you.

Surround yourself with good people and good things, and have a blessed week ahead!

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