Alanna Thornton’s Reviews > The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World > Status Update

We don't need to wait until the feelings of compassion arise before we choose to be generous. Generosity is often something that we learn to enjoy by doing… it is prescribed by almost every religious tradition. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, called zakat. In Judaism, it is called tzeda-kah, which literally means "justice." In Hinduism and Buddhism, it is called dana. And in Christianity, it is charity.

The Dalai Lama had said, even ten minutes of meditation on the wellbeing of others can help one to feel joyful for the whole day- even before coffee.

Aww haha

One of the differences between empathy and compassion is that while empathy is simply experiencing another's emotion, compassion is a more empowered state where we want what is best for the other person. As the Dalai Lama has described it, 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 to remove the rock.

We fear compassion because we're afraid of experiencing the suffering, the vulnerability, and the helplessness that can come with having an open heart… many people are afraid that if they are compassionate they will be taken advantage of, that others will become dependent on them, and that they won't be able to handle others' distress.

“It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy. Every moment is a gift.”

“Acceptance-whether we believe in God or not allows us to move into the fullness of joy. It allows us to engage with life on its own terms rather than rail against the fact that life is not as we would wish.”

"We are meant to live in joy," the Archbishop explained. "This does not mean that life will be easy or painless. It means that we can turn our faces to the wind and accept that this is the storm we must pass through. We cannot succeed by denying what exists. The acceptance of reality is the only place from which change can begin."