TIPPETT: ...of “gratefulness” at getting at kind of the gratitude as you understand it. BR. STEINDL-RAST: The reason why I use the words “gratitude” and “gratefulness” and “thanksgiving” in the way in which I use them is that we really need different terms for our experience. And we all know from experience that moments in which this gratitude wells up in our hearts are experienced first as if something were filling up within us, filling with joy, really. But not yet articulate. And then it comes to a point where the heart overflows and we sing, and we thank somebody, and for that I like a different term. And then I call that “thanks... posted on Feb 9 2016 (20,423 reads)

healing we need both individually and in a global sense. In 1997 she founded Vision Arrow, a program that combines wilderness exploration and the search for meaning. A few years later, she founded a second program, Radical Joy for Hard Times, which evolved naturally from the first. The two programs complement each other. In her notes for Vision Quest she writes, “I don’t know anyone whose life hasn’t been an incredible journey of ups and downs, sorrow in the midst of great joy and, even more amazing, joy in the midst of the deepest chasms of sorrow.” How to make sense of it all? At some point, it’s necessary to realize that one’s own health is intricat... posted on Jul 22 2013 (18,232 reads)

yet endangered response is what British naturalist and environmental writer Michael McCarthy, a modern-day Carson, explores in The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy (public library) — part memoir and part manifesto, a work of philosophy rooted in environmental science and buoyed by a soaring poetic imagination. McCarthy writes: The natural world can offer us more than the means to survive, on the one hand, or mortal risks to be avoided, on the other: it can offer us joy. […] There can be occasions when we suddenly and involuntarily find ourselves loving the natural world with a startling intensity, in a burst of emotion which we may not fully underst... posted on Aug 22 2018 (9,704 reads)

and fear, inspiring videos are emerging from the countries most affected by coronavirus—Iranian doctors and nurses dancing in hospitals and Italian residents singing from their balconies. This footage not only uplifts the spirit of those in close proximity, it also brightens the mood of people watching from around the world.  One thing I’ve learned from spending much of my own childhood in times of war and political upheaval is the importance of cultivating joy during crises. While it is critical to be informed about the trajectory of the new coronavirus via reliable sources, to practice physical distancing, and to care for our most vulnerable population... posted on Apr 18 2023 (25,685 reads)

for the magazine, and tell us how that all came about, about the teaching the songwriting in the jail" So that was what followed on from looking after dying people. So I wrote the article, handwritten, with just a pen and a piece of chai . . . a cup of chai beside me, and as I finished the article, I thought, "Why aren't I writing more?" I love writing, and at the time, I was trying to break through into the singer-songwriter world, and loving songwriting, but really not enjoying performing, and the pub scene, and that sort of world at all. So I thought, "OK, I'll start a blog." I created the blog, called Inspiration and Chai, and then I thought, &... posted on Aug 12 2019 (13,123 reads)

and leisure time to our media use and spending habits? Begin with gratitude, suggests Eric Barker of Time Magazine. Not only is gratitude linked to lower levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness, research shows it’s also correlated with higher levels of life satisfaction and social integration. By reflecting on what you already have, you’re less likely to expend valuable mental energy on worrying about what you don’t. Another alternative? Embrace JOMO, or the joy of missing out. Unlike FOMO, JOMO encourages individuals to turn their attention to the present moment and tune in to their unique desires. JOMO allows us to shift our focus to what we really want... posted on Aug 30 2018 (32,590 reads)

contemporary lifestyle. It likewise speaks volumes about us and about the nature of the choices we make daily. Gone perhaps are the days of poetic musings over the merits of walking versus riding. Yet one can’t help but wonder if we have lost something essential along the way—a connection with the world that only a leisurely walk can provide. So, while technology continues to shape our lives, perhaps it is worth revisiting the inner struggle once posed by Davies by embracing the joy of walking seen through the eyes of the renowned author C.S. Lewis. He firmly aligned himself with an unwavering affirmative response toward “joy,” and it was with this same purpose in... posted on Nov 22 2023 (2,349 reads)

just pushing against, basically, a force of history, a stage of life. And that's what is so troubling to me, is that we're exhausting ourselves and we're going to go down in despair here. Many people already have. I just wanted to find ... I wanted to fully recognize, using history and present day awareness, what is going on here and what is right work? What is a place where I can still make a difference? Where I can still feel a sense of deep commitment and experience moments of joy in the work? And that's been my quest and it's the basis now of really facing reality to find work that is meaningful. TS: Now I want to ask you a question about this myth of progr... posted on Mar 29 2018 (26,895 reads)

just pushing against, basically, a force of history, a stage of life. And that's what is so troubling to me, is that we're exhausting ourselves and we're going to go down in despair here. Many people already have. I just wanted to find ... I wanted to fully recognize, using history and present day awareness, what is going on here and what is right work? What is a place where I can still make a difference? Where I can still feel a sense of deep commitment and experience moments of joy in the work? And that's been my quest and it's the basis now of really facing reality to find work that is meaningful. TS: Now I want to ask you a question about this myth of progr... posted on May 17 2018 (15,876 reads)

now have more and more recognition of that. There is this micro-trend towards truly embodied therapy where we’re actually being helped to come back into our senses and feelings, and we have many examples now of reconnection as the healing paradigm. For me that’s also fundamentally what localisation is about—deep reconnection to others, and to life itself. And that experience of oneness is for me what lies behind virtually every spiritual tradition and religion. And the deep joy and ecstasy from being able to be a part of that enormous family of life. Yeah. You know I often have the opportunity to work with college students and sometimes even high school students. [Lau... posted on Jul 27 2021 (3,885 reads)

leave their homes. I have to keep myself in good enough shape to do my work, but I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me because I’ve been to too many countries in too short a time. I’m fine and I’m going to be resting this afternoon.” Something about that conversation shifted my whole sense of myself.  I’m noticing a fear come up in myself around that idea — a fear of burnout or a fear that that attitude could, misused, perhaps lead to joylessness. LT: Burnout, in my view, is being disconnected from Source. I don’t think it’s as related as we think to working too long or too hard or eating pizza and Coke instead ... posted on Dec 7 2018 (10,385 reads)

follows is the edited transcript of Chelan Harkin's Awakin Call Mark Peters:  So it’s now my honor to introduce Chelan. Chelan has been channeling ecstatic poetry for more than a decade now and has published two popular collections of her work, Susceptible to Light and Let Us Dance: The Stumble and Whirl with the Beloved, both of which were released in 2021. Her books aim to remind readers of their inherent joy, to support modes of relating to life that open the heart, and to deconstruct anything about God that doesn’t feel intimate, authentic, and warm. Her publishing journey has been supported by mystical connections and prayer experim... posted on Apr 1 2023 (4,228 reads)

with the world, from a place of worthiness. Second, they make choices every day in their life, choices that almost feel subversive in our culture. They are mindful about things like rest and play. They cultivate creativity, they practice self-compassion. They have an understanding of the importance of vulnerability and the perception of vulnerability as courage. They show up in their lives in a very open way that I think scares most of us. How does vulnerability relate to our capacity for joy? As someone who spent more than a decade studying fear, vulnerability, and shame, I never thought in a million years that I would say that joy is probably the most difficult emotion to feel. It... posted on Dec 20 2012 (54,620 reads)

to find another way of telling.” She is a contributing editor to Harper’s magazine and the author of profound books that defy category. She’s emerged as one of our great chroniclers of untold histories of redemptive change in places like post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. She writes that so often, “when all the ordinary divides and patterns are shattered, people step up to become their brother’s keepers. And that purposefulness and connectedness bring joy even amidst death, chaos, fear and loss.” MS. REBECCA SOLNIT: I want better metaphors. I want better stories. I want more openness. I want better questions. All these things feel lik... posted on Jun 25 2016 (10,631 reads)

name is synonymous with Facebook and Silicon Valley success, and she’s the voice of Lean In. Today, she joins us with vulnerability and frankness, together with the psychologist Adam Grant. He was there for her after the shocking death of her young husband, David Goldberg, while they were on vacation in 2015. Adam’s friendship — and his data — helped Sheryl find her way to what deep resilience might mean for herself and her children, and even daring to reclaim joy. There is so much learning here for all of us, for facing the unimaginable, and for becoming more practically caring towards the loss that is woven into lives all around us at any moment. Ms. S... posted on Jun 17 2017 (17,404 reads)

prophetic tradition. Prophets, he says, are the spiritual warriors, calling attention to cries for justice. It is his outspoken activism on behalf of justice that has earned Fox the label “radical,” a term that doesn’t bother him, since it comes from the Latin word for “root,” the same as “radish.” He fully admits to a desire to “go deep” and to call people to return to the roots of their spiritual traditions—which are love, kindness, joy, reverence, and awe, Fox believes. Fox is the author of more than thirty books. including The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, Original Blessing, Creation Spirituality, The Hidden Spirituality... posted on Nov 12 2020 (28,327 reads)

be happy in order to cheer her up.”  “When my father is depressed, I’ll be angry in order to bring him back to life.”  “When my siblings are fighting I will get sick in order to change the violence.”  “I will hate myself in order to atone for being a burden on my mother.” When people have these contracts, it doesn’t matter how much they practice liking themselves or do meditations to increase self-warmth and joy. These contracts are the ground on which everything else is built and so they create persistent stories about the self: I am not worthy of love. I am an angry person. I am never sad. I always get ... posted on Jan 3 2022 (6,692 reads)

me go to Paris. That is where I met my mentor (the late French Dominican Marie Dominic Pere Chenu) who named the creation spirituality tradition for me. So I was very blessed to have every day that special education actually. And I tried to make the most of it. Eventually, I think they regretted that I did come home, but that's another story. Rahul: I want to fast forward to that story because what I'm hearing and what you shared are both the deepening into the tradition and enjoying the richness and fullness in it and also the beginnings of a little bit of a conflict with the institution. Or if not conflict at that stage, just a clarity that perhaps the institution wasn... posted on Sep 8 2022 (3,035 reads)

happiness lies in things that are not small but simple. Starting as one of her many rewarding accidents, the crusade of The Smile Project began in the late fall of 2011 as Liz drove home from school. “It was unusually warm for that time of year and I had my windows down and my radio up. I couldn’t tell you a single song that was on the radio, but I remember I was happy,” she recalled. “It was more than that, though. Most days I would have just felt the emotion of joy, smiled, and moved on. But something deeper hit me.” “I got home and I did what any 17-year-old would do in 2011 when they think they have a life-altering message to communicate wit... posted on Feb 2 2021 (5,884 reads)

in the UK? Murthy:I was, yes. [laughs] Tippett:That’s right. You went through Newfoundland, you ended up in Miami… Murthy:Yeah, that’s right. Tippett:That’s a really interesting trajectory. Your father was a doctor. But I’m curious about, in this background of your childhood and your family, where do you trace the roots of this care that you have, this passion, for the art of healing? Murthy:Well, I’ll just say Krista, just to start, what a joy it is to be with you as well, as somebody who’s listened to On Being for many years long before I met you. I’m just such a fan, but also a deep admirer of what you do and the... posted on Apr 14 2023 (3,861 reads)