Sunshine Cleaning

with Amy Adams

Viewed October 10, 2009

We started off with Question 3, and noticed that there were really two questions there: How we handle it when we screw up, and how we'd LIKE to handle it when we screw up. They were different! We talked about how we criticize ourselves around making mistakes even when others may not criticize us in the same way. Someone also noted that it had helped her to try to imagine how she would reply if a friend told her he had made the same mistake, because she would often treat him better than she was treating herself.

On Question 7, we talked about trying to influence people when we think they are doing something unwise, and how hard it is sometimes to just let them live their own life. We also talked about how sometimes we need to decide how much energy we want to put into trying to influence others, based on how important they are to us, because if they aren't very important, maybe we'd be wise not to spend that much energy on communicating with them.

On Question 8, which deals with anger, someone said she finds anger a sometimes useful source of energy. In fact, when she is feeling lazy and can't get up the energy to clean house, she puts FOX news on the TV and then she can start yelling at the TV set and get up LOTS of energy that she needs to clean house.
(This video was reviewed by Bob McGarey)

Feel free to come and share your own personal insights sometime; the Saturday Night Video and Discussions here in Austin, Texas are a lot of fun and fascinating. (They're free, too.) Here are the questions the group came up with, based on the personal growth themes in the movie:

SUNSHINE CLEANING

  1. How much approval do I need, when do I need it, and how do I want it?
  2. How have I blamed people in the past and how well did that work for me?
  3. How do I handle it when I feel like I really screwed up? When I feel I'm stupid?
  4. How do I make my problems go away so I don't have to deal with them?
  5. How have I insulated myself from death?
  6. How have I put off taking responsibility for what goes on in my life?
  7. How do I influence people when they are making mountains out of molehills?
  8. How do I handle it when it feels like I'm on the receiving end of a vicious attack?