The Sidebar: An Oscar Nomination for Kindness, Permission to Winter, and Quick Citrus Beets
- And how to stay (and sing) Humble and Kind
Humble and Kind, Part 1
I don’t know if artist Charlie Mackesy is as humble and kind in person as he is on the page. (Though I did sneak a peek at this interview, and well, yep.) But like millions of other people who have read The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and The Horse, and the thousands who have found cheer and solace in the drawings and thoughts Mackesy posts on Instagram, I couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride and joy and yes, weepiness, when I saw his reaction this week to an Oscar nomination for the animated short film created from the book.
A couple years ago I wrote about reading the book after a (sober) friend sent it to me out of the blue.
I was enchanted by the illustrations and deeply touched by the kindness and wisdom the three animals offer the boy on their journey to search for “home.” It reminded me — and my friend — of our paths through recovery and of how much strangers helped along the way. And of how people (all people) the world over struggle to accept themselves as they are.
In the book (and the film), the boy is floundering, feeling as if he is somehow not enough. But his friends reassure him that he is loved just as he is.
“So you know all about me?' asked the boy.
'Yes.' said the horse.
'And you still love me?'
'We love you all the more.”
I implore you to meet this crew – I watched the trailer (below) a few times before I finally broke down and signed up for a free month of Apple TV (which I will have to remember to cancel!) to watch the whole 34-minute film. And oh my, I’m so glad I did. It was extraordinarily lovely and sweet; happily Mackesy was deeply involved in the making of it and it shows.
The friendship and love these four share struck me right in the heart, reminding me (again) of what really matters in life.
“Nothing beats kindness; it sits quietly beyond all things,” says the mole.
How I wish I could channel that every day!
Humble and Kind, Part II
The film led me to YouTube to play a favorite song, Humble and Kind, written by Lori McKenna and recorded by Tim McGraw. Never having seen the video made for the recording, I had no idea that it features spectacular and moving footage of people of all faiths around the world, filmed for Oprah’s 2015 television documentary “Belief.” This visual expression of the connection we share in a search for higher ground, regardless of our specific beliefs, is the perfect backdrop to a song about treating each other with kindness.
It’s funny because Lori McKenna wrote the song for her five kids, sitting at her dining room table one day after dropping them off at school. She wanted to tell them what she and her husband felt was important for them to know in life.