I was cleaning out my bedside drawer today in my childhood home (my sister is coming back and going to take over my room since I am away) and I found a stack of sticky notes when some quote I wrote down from The Book of Joy. This book was super important for me in a time of my life when I was very frustrated with myself and dealing with a lot of self-doubt and also anger towards myself and the world. Reflecting back on these ideas that I made of point of writing down really bring me back to the seeds that were planted in my head at the same and the shifts that have since occurred in my approach to life. Recently I’ve been dealing with some similar feelings of inadequacy and frustration with myself, and while I’m not a big believer in the existence of supernatural forces, this does feel like a uncannily timely reunion with thoughts of my former self. The quote are below, so whatever you are dealing with right now, I hope you can find something valuable in them as I did and continue to do:
Then you realize that basic human nature is good, is compassionate, and that the person does not want to harm you. So therefore you see their emotion is due to some misunderstanding or misinformation. 89
Even if leadership requires a show of strength during moments of crisis our humanity is defined equally, or perhaps even more, by our weakness and vulnerability. 94
Stress and anxiety often come from too much expectation and too much ambition. Then when we don’t fulfill that expectation or achieve that ambition, we experience frustration. 96
These people are just like me, same human being. If we think we are something special, or not special enough then fear, nervousness, stress and anxiety arise. We are the same. 99
We say that you will be surprised by the joy the minute you stop being too self-regarding. Of course, you have to be somewhat self-regarding, because the Lord that I follow said ‘love thy neighbor as thyself.’ 148
God uses each of us in our own way, and even if you are not the best one, you may be the one who is needed or the one who is there. 211
The Dalai Lama was reminding us throughout the week not to get caught up in roles, and indeed arrogance is the confusion between our temporary roles and our fundamental identity. 209
If you realize you are inadequate in some way, then you develop effort. If you think, everything is fine and I’m okay just as I am, then you will not try to develop further. 212
You know it’s so good to see the ridiculous in us all really. I think we get to see our common humanity in many ways. [I]f you are able to laugh at yourself and get others to laugh at you without feeling guilty that they are laughing at you. The humor that doesn’t demean is an invitation to everyone to join in the laughter. 220
You cannot control your neighbor, but you do have some control over your thought and feelings. Instead of anger, instead of hatred, instead of fear, you can cultivate compassion for them, you can cultivate kindness toward them, you can cultivate warm heartedness toward them. 226
Sometimes we get too angry with ourselves, thinking that we ought to be perfect from the word go. But being on Earth is a time for us to learn to be good, to learn to be more loving, to learn to be more compassionate. And you learn, not theoretically. You learn when something happens that tests you. 227
If the goal is noble, your commitment to the goal should not be contingent on your ability to attain it, and in pursuit of our goal, we must release our rigid assumptions about how we must achieve it. Peace and equanimity come from letting go of our attachment to the goal and the method. That is the essence of acceptance. 227
The world didn’t give you your joy, and the world can’t take it away. You can let people come into your life and destroy it, but I refused to let anyone take my joy. 245
If we see a person who is being crushed by a rock, the goal is not to get under the rock and feel what they are feeling; it is to help remove the rock. 259
We people who care must be attractive, must be filled with joy, so that others recognize that caring, that helping and being generous are not a burden, they are a joy. 274
nANIMOv 