Sometimes it’s easy to assume words mean the same thing. Recently I read a fascinating column by David Brooks in the New York Times. I’ve been reading Mr. Brooks’ columns for years and I often end up shouting at my newspaper or, more recently, my computer screen. But we watched an episode of Super Soul Sunday a few years ago and Oprah Winfrey interviewed David Brooks. He has been going through a very interesting personal transition. I was going to use the word “transformation” but with me he’s always just one column away from some conservative blah blah blah that will have me shouting again. But he’s a very respectable intellectual and I appreciate his ability to get me to think about something from another point of view. Watching this program showed me a much more human side of someone I had assumed was just another political talking head. Instead, I saw a man of my generation who was experiencing a profound opening of his heart and mind and was becoming a seeker. Just like me.
His recent column was about the difference between happiness and joy. The context was about speaking to the 2019 graduating class of Arizona State University. The graduates were experiencing happiness. Their long hours, hard work and focus had resulted in the achievement of a goal. Their happiness was focused on themselves, and rightfully so. The people in the stands, the parents, grandparents, family, friends and faculty were feeling joy. Not for themselves but the deeper appreciation and love for another’s accomplishment. Here’s how Brooks explains the difference: “Happiness usually involves a victory for the self. Joy tends to involve the transcendence of self. Happiness comes from accomplishments. Joy comes when your heart is in another.”
One of the most important things I have learned at Unity is that we are not here to achieve or overcome or just experience fleeting happiness. We are here to transcend the self and experience outrageous JOY! And that joy is based on our love and commitment to others. I am so grateful, truly grateful, that I have learned that on this amazing journey of exploration!
Gordon Herzog, Board Member
