I also notice and appreciate all the people around us who do the jobs that make our environment cleaner, repair or build things, pick up the garbage, sort the garbage, etc. Thank you for reminding me.
Love your drawing, the trailer & Wim Wenders who has done such great work over the years. I particularly remember him for Buena Vista Social Club. I will watch Perfect Days to night. Thanks for another great tip, Liza!
Whenever possible I try to thank the people who make our lives better doing work most of us are glad not to do. The surprise and smiles on their faces is amazing. Try it.
I also loved the movie Perfect Days. For me, it was a deep and needed reminder about how society makes assumptions about what the path to happiness is and what happiness is and also what creates a purposeful and fulfilling life. Perhaps, we have forgotten or no longer place value on some basics about creating inner peace and the importance of knowing what personal dignity and societal dignity really entails. My father would said, I don’t care if you become a garbage collector, just do it well, and know you are vital and take pride in that. I knew what he was getting at and through it have always tried to notice and be respectful of every person doing a good job at whatever and speaking to them in thanks or just a smile or even offering people who help manage in my personal spaces in real ways. E.g., today, two guys who help my gardens stay beautiful were offered homemade soup and bread at lunch time. I brought out tow nicely set trays with cloth napkins and ailver ware and water with the food and another tray with butter and pepper and salt and fresh cilantro chopped for their soup if they preferred. Like I would want to sit an eat at the table on our back deck. I do it all the time it different ways. People know when you are being genuine and not just speaking the words. I am not patting myself on the back, I am just giving an example of the way I was raised to treat every person as ‘seen’ and treat them as I would want to be treated. It is just who I am, thanks to two great people.
I have talked to some people who do jobs ‘among the unseen’ and they express the hardest part is that people treat them as invisible and unworthy,
don’t even make eye contact. They feel so ‘unseen’ and unappreciated. We perhaps think it is ‘awful’ when we hear about the Dalits (the untouchables) in India or similar in other cultures and how they are treated, but in reality, we do the same all the time and are too embarrassed to even admit it. I am not saying it is right anywhere, just that we often hide that the behaviors toward people exists here also.
I am glad you loved the movie also! And thanks for this drawing. My wish is that a lot of people see this film. Dignity and happiness and kindness and standing up in a productive way when one is taken advantage of, there is so much to SEE in this movie. And, yes, Kōji Yakusho, was brilliant in the lead role.
I love the small book Random Acts of Kindness and re-read it in the bathtub all the time as a meditation of sorts to help me keep dignity and kindness top of mind. We all need reminding, I know I do. This movie brought that book to mind. See the movie and maybe even read the little book, too.
This is a long post but your post and drawing brought it out of me. Sending 💕 😊
Wonderful drawing. Beautiful note. Thank you for the movie recommendation. We will watch it!!! Because you convey that the movie is beautiful and because the main character is Japanese it made me associate to the recent most beautiful film my wife and I watched last week: “Past Lives”-the main characters are a Korean boy and girl…very close at 12…separated as the girl’s family emigrated to Canada. We see them reconnect 12 years later and then again after another 12 years. All the goodness, kindness moves me to many tears. Beautiful characters!
Another wonderful drawing by a wonderful artist of humanity. I watched the movie trailer and will definitely watch the whole movie. Thank you, Liza, for all you do to portray the best of humanity, which is most of us, no matter what the press insists on reporting.
Liza, I was looking up our local indie theater about the same time your post came in and Perfect Days was playing. We went this afternoon and it's hard to describe how beautiful this film is! Utterly humane and inspiring. The actor Kōji Yakusho is remarkable and one wants to absorb every nuance of his character, Hirayama. His work cleaning toilets brought to mind an interview I read years ago about what influenced the renowned chef Thomas Keller (The French Laundry) in his work to serve perfect food. He said it was learned from his duty of cleaning the bathrooms in his house as a young teenager; he set about working to do it perfectly and that trait carried on ever after.
Love your drawing (and whenever I see anyone cleaning a bathroom in an airport, I do try to thank them).
Thanks for the heads up on the film. Will watch it today.
That's very kind! Thank you, DeeDee.
And imagine the global slice of humanity she gets to observe every day at LAX. WOW.
Great sketch; enjoy Austin LD.
I also notice and appreciate all the people around us who do the jobs that make our environment cleaner, repair or build things, pick up the garbage, sort the garbage, etc. Thank you for reminding me.
Through your eyes literally. Great respect for the working man and woman. Never not grateful.
Love your drawing, the trailer & Wim Wenders who has done such great work over the years. I particularly remember him for Buena Vista Social Club. I will watch Perfect Days to night. Thanks for another great tip, Liza!
Whenever possible I try to thank the people who make our lives better doing work most of us are glad not to do. The surprise and smiles on their faces is amazing. Try it.
Great cartoon. I also cleaned toilets for a couple years. Where did you see Perfect Days . . . Amazon Prime?
Yes, Amazon Prime, I think! Thanks!
I also loved the movie Perfect Days. For me, it was a deep and needed reminder about how society makes assumptions about what the path to happiness is and what happiness is and also what creates a purposeful and fulfilling life. Perhaps, we have forgotten or no longer place value on some basics about creating inner peace and the importance of knowing what personal dignity and societal dignity really entails. My father would said, I don’t care if you become a garbage collector, just do it well, and know you are vital and take pride in that. I knew what he was getting at and through it have always tried to notice and be respectful of every person doing a good job at whatever and speaking to them in thanks or just a smile or even offering people who help manage in my personal spaces in real ways. E.g., today, two guys who help my gardens stay beautiful were offered homemade soup and bread at lunch time. I brought out tow nicely set trays with cloth napkins and ailver ware and water with the food and another tray with butter and pepper and salt and fresh cilantro chopped for their soup if they preferred. Like I would want to sit an eat at the table on our back deck. I do it all the time it different ways. People know when you are being genuine and not just speaking the words. I am not patting myself on the back, I am just giving an example of the way I was raised to treat every person as ‘seen’ and treat them as I would want to be treated. It is just who I am, thanks to two great people.
I have talked to some people who do jobs ‘among the unseen’ and they express the hardest part is that people treat them as invisible and unworthy,
don’t even make eye contact. They feel so ‘unseen’ and unappreciated. We perhaps think it is ‘awful’ when we hear about the Dalits (the untouchables) in India or similar in other cultures and how they are treated, but in reality, we do the same all the time and are too embarrassed to even admit it. I am not saying it is right anywhere, just that we often hide that the behaviors toward people exists here also.
I am glad you loved the movie also! And thanks for this drawing. My wish is that a lot of people see this film. Dignity and happiness and kindness and standing up in a productive way when one is taken advantage of, there is so much to SEE in this movie. And, yes, Kōji Yakusho, was brilliant in the lead role.
I love the small book Random Acts of Kindness and re-read it in the bathtub all the time as a meditation of sorts to help me keep dignity and kindness top of mind. We all need reminding, I know I do. This movie brought that book to mind. See the movie and maybe even read the little book, too.
This is a long post but your post and drawing brought it out of me. Sending 💕 😊
Wonderful drawing. Beautiful note. Thank you for the movie recommendation. We will watch it!!! Because you convey that the movie is beautiful and because the main character is Japanese it made me associate to the recent most beautiful film my wife and I watched last week: “Past Lives”-the main characters are a Korean boy and girl…very close at 12…separated as the girl’s family emigrated to Canada. We see them reconnect 12 years later and then again after another 12 years. All the goodness, kindness moves me to many tears. Beautiful characters!
I enjoyed that movie as well, very much.
Another wonderful drawing by a wonderful artist of humanity. I watched the movie trailer and will definitely watch the whole movie. Thank you, Liza, for all you do to portray the best of humanity, which is most of us, no matter what the press insists on reporting.
Thank you, Deborah.
Liza, I was looking up our local indie theater about the same time your post came in and Perfect Days was playing. We went this afternoon and it's hard to describe how beautiful this film is! Utterly humane and inspiring. The actor Kōji Yakusho is remarkable and one wants to absorb every nuance of his character, Hirayama. His work cleaning toilets brought to mind an interview I read years ago about what influenced the renowned chef Thomas Keller (The French Laundry) in his work to serve perfect food. He said it was learned from his duty of cleaning the bathrooms in his house as a young teenager; he set about working to do it perfectly and that trait carried on ever after.
In any case, thanks for the recommendation!
So glad you got to see it, I loved this movie, as you can tell. I will have to find French Laundry and watch that!
Ahhh, The French Laundry is Keller's restaurant in Napa, not a film.
Oh! Read too quickly!
Have t you seen The Taste of Things? Wonderful!
No, I haven't! Will find it.