It seems for the last months there has been too much negative news on which to focus. It has become a bit wearying. Given the daily occurrence of new surprises from the White House it doesn’t seem likely that there will be much but more of same. Therefore it is up to us to change the direction of our mental travails.
I have come across a book that is perfectly positioned to help us with our current angst. The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by Douglas Abrams is just the ticket. It is currently number five on the New York Times nonfiction best seller list (and moving upward).
How Abrams came to write this book is less than clear. He is a recognized journalist of note but he comments in full disclosure that he is a secular Jew and is writing a book that deals with Buddhism and Christianity.
His two characters are the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He has had a relationship as a writer with Tutu for a number of years and came up with the idea that a weeklong conversation between these two icons would be something worth doing.
Both His Holiness and the Archbishop are elderly and in fragile health, so arranging this meeting was fraught with difficulty, both physical and political but Abrams was up to the challenge.
The occasion was the 80th birthday of the Dalai Lama and the meeting was held in Dharamsala, India. Such a get together had been planned for The Archbishop’s birthday but the South African government, bowing to pressure from the Chinese, would not grant the Dalai Lama a visa. It must take an unusual amount of hutzpah to deny a visa to someone who is widely considered a saint by a substantial portion of the world.
The purpose of the meeting was to have a dialogue between the two on the sources of joy. How to obtain joy and, most importantly, how to sustain it in the face of many world problems and challenges.
Abrams does a seamless job in bringing all readers up to speed on why these two are such notables. In the unlikely event that there will be readers who don’t know that both are winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, have overcome great political opposition at the risk of their own lives, and have a personal magnetism that borders on the other-worldly, Abrams brings a style of writing to this book that makes one feel a real sense of presence in the whole affair.
In thinking back to my first television exposure to each of these men, there was one similarity that was immediately arresting: calmness and a radiance that I am sure every politician would envy. In both cases, I was immediately captivated by their powerful presence even before they had spoken a word. As the book progresses it becomes obvious that is a universal reaction to them both – but underneath the charisma there is an astoundingly simple explanation: both are fully at peace within themselves yet remain totally approachable at the same time.
Since we are trying to refocus ourselves on a different path from hostile confrontation and learn to live in harmony with those who are of a different opinion, this is a book that will be a guide for anyone who is thoughtful and quiet enough to absorb the life-changing philosophy these two giants playfully share with, not only one another, but with a world that so desperately needs to hear it.
The book concludes with a step-by-step guide for lesser mortals such as we that will lead toward the goal of joy and if not achieving it, at least make strides in that direction. READ THIS BOOK! It will be time well spent.
Hayden Hollingsworth
