Joy to the World
I’ve just started reading The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, which documents a week-long conversation (actually a love fest!) between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond TuTu. It’s delightful. And Inspiring. And Encouraging. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Here’s a sample from the Introduction:
“The Dalai Lama and the Archbishop are two of the great spiritual master of our time, but they are also moral leaders who transcend their own traditions and speak always from a concern for humanity as a whole. Their courage and resilience and dogged hope in humanity inspire millions as they refuse to give in to the fashionable cynicism that risks engulfing us. Their joy is clearly not easy or superficial but one burnished by the fire of adversity, oppression, and struggle. The Dalai Lama and the Archbishop remind us that joy is in fact our birthright and even more fundamental than happiness.
“‘Joy,’ as the Archbishop said during the week, ‘is much bigger than happiness. While happiness is often seen as being dependent on external circumstances, joy is not.’ This state of mind–and heart–is much closer to both the Dalai Lama’s and the Archbishop’s understanding of what animates our lives and what ultimately leads to a life of satisfaction and meaning.
“The dialogues were about what the Dalai Lama has called the very ‘purpose of life’–the goal of avoiding suffering and discovering happiness. They share their hard-won wisdom of how we can transform joy from an ephemeral state into an enduring trait, from a fleeting feeling into a lasting way of being.”
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It’s in bookstores now. Why wait till Christmas!