In ancient Scriptures, “joy” is an important value. Some speak of the joy of creation, or the joy
of gratitude. But one aspect of joy that
is often neglected is joy in others. To rejoice
in another is to have one’s heart leap when they appear, to take pleasure in
conversing with them, to join with them in their personal joys. Joy is not only a personal feeling, it is a
communal sharing. Joy is essential to
love, for who wants a relationship to lack joy?
Opposite: Envy of other’s good fortune, negative response to
another
Think of a person we dislike. When we converse with that person, do we find
our eyes avoiding them, our voice containing irritation, an attempt to get away
from them? How can we express a more
positive interaction? Now pick another
person whom we neither especially love nor dislike. When we think of them, do we focus on the
things we especially enjoy about them?
What good things about others can we think about, without considering
the negative? If we meditate on the
positive, then we can more easily express joy when we next see them.
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