For today’s joy message, I turned to the Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalia Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams. Abrams quoted Archbishop Tutu’s answer to a child at the Tibetan Children’s Village (page 293) that I find moving:
If we think we want to get joy for ourselves, we realize that it’s very shortsighted, short-lived. Joy is the reward, really, of seeking to give joy to others. When you show compassion, when you show love to others, do things for others, in a wonderful way you have a deep joy that you can get in no other way.
I am reminded again of the blessings and beauty of our work as nurses.