"Aggressively Happy" Webinar Recording
Sharing my conversation with Joy Clarkson about her new book
Thank you to everyone who tuned into listen to my Zoom webinar with Joy Clarkson this past Thursday! I’ve shared the recording below, for those who missed it.
As I was reviewing notes from Joy’s book and following the news on Ukraine this past week, I was struck by how much her book—about happiness—talks about suffering, sadness, and the unknown. As Joy pointed out in our conversation, we don’t talk about happiness because we live in a world free of evil, violence, or suffering.
“There are real reasons to be disappointed, to be worried, there are real reasons to be sad,” Joy said. “But I think I wanted to know [if it was] possible to find happiness—and not just to find it, but to cause it, to be a source of joy and hope in this world for other people. I think the only reason we feel so angry at injustice is because we have some notion of justice, of goodness, of how the world should be. Keeping in contact with that heart of goodness at the core of reality is a key part of loving and caring for other people, and making sense of our lives.”
You can watch our conversation below. The Granola YouTube channel also has recordings for past conversations on maintenance (with Leah Libresco Sargeant, Lee Vinsel, and Andrew Russell) and on Marilynne Robinson’s novel Jack (with Sarah Clarkson, Tiffany Kriner, and Charlie Clark). I had to buy a new computer—one that doesn’t crash when I try to host / attend Zoom events!—so hopefully I will not lose future recordings, as I did with our Hannah Coulter webinar.
Was so sorry to miss this in real time, but the timing was perfect as I caught up last night on a long train journey during a difficult time for our family. Thank you so much for offering the replay!
I'm so glad I get to revisit this! I had to miss the middle portion because of a family need. I also saw a brief video yesterday from L'Arche in Ukraine that made me think of Joy's book. I've attached the link (hope that's O.K.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvvN6lE6np4
The main idea was joy as a life giving response to hardship.