An instant New York Times bestseller Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question. Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet. In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama's home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness's eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering? They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy. This book offers us a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing and unprecendented week together, from the first embrace to the final good-bye. We get to listen as they explore the Nature of True Joy and confront each of the Obstacles of Joy—from fear, stress, and anger to grief, illness, and death. They then offer us the Eight Pillars of Joy, which provide the foundation for lasting happiness. Throughout, they include stories, wisdom, and science. Finally, they share their daily Joy Practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. The Archbishop has never claimed sainthood, and the Dalai Lama considers himself a simple monk. In this unique collaboration, they offer us the reflection of real lives filled with pain and turmoil in the midst of which they have been able to discover a level of peace, of courage, and of joy to which we can all aspire in our own lives.

What gives you joy? This beautiful journal from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu gives you all the space you need to notice and record what gives you joy. Arranged as a 365-day companion, it prompts you with inspiring quotes from The Book of Joy to help transform their joy practices into an enduring way of life. It is the perfect companion for The Book of Joy's many passionate readers as well as the perfect gift for anyone looking to live a more joyful. Share the joy!

Preach Truth to Your Heart God's Word leaves a legacy of joy as we live by it, build upon it, and let it transform our minds and shape our hearts. From bestselling author and creator of GraceLaced comes a book combining Scripture and affirmations to inspire you to rejoice in all things. With 58 specially selected scriptures, each accompanied by hand-painted artwork and a short, heartfelt truth to direct your thoughts to find joy in your Savior. We were made for joy. And yet, true and lasting happiness is sometimes harder to hold on to than it seems. With one thought, one word, it can slip out of our grasp. In a world of countless counterfeits, if you struggle to cultivate and experience true joy, Ruth Chou Simons offers these short meditations alongside her beautiful hand-painted artwork to encourage you to preach truth to your own heart. As you memorize Scripture and find encouragement in Ruth’s words, you’ll be transformed as you learn to “rejoice in the Lord always.” “These powerful reminders of God’s faithfulness will drive you to further dependence on His Word and a greater cultivation of lasting joy.” –Ruth Chou Simons

Offering an antidote to the church's cultural irrelevance, this book helps us to cultivate and live out the joy of God as the key to having a transformative impact on the world.

A poetry collection of “playful and crooning lyricism” from the National Book Award– and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple (Booklist). In this dazzling new collection, Alice Walker offers over sixty new poems to incite and nurture contemporary activists. Hailed as a “lavishly gifted writer,” Walker imbues her poetry with evocative images, fresh language, anger, forgiveness, and profound wisdom (The New York Times). Casting her eye toward history, politics, and nature, as well as to world figures such as Jimmy Carter, Gloria Steinem, and the Dalai Lama, she “distills struggles, crises, and tragedies down to bright, singing lessons in living with awareness and joy” (Booklist). By attentively chronicling the conditions of human life today, Walker shows, as ever, her deep compassion, profound spirituality, and necessary political commitments. The poems in The World Will Follow Joy remind us of our human capacity to come together and take action, even in our troubled political times. “Her spirituality, concern for human rights, and almost old-fashioned, determined joyousness run deep and her devoted readers will want to follow her as she turns ‘madness into flowers’” (Library Journal).

From bestselling author of The Book of Delights and award-winning poet, a book of lyrical mini-essays celebrating the everyday that will inspire readers to rediscover the joys in the world around us. In Ross Gay’s new collection of small, daily wonders, again written over the course of a year, one of America’s most original voices continues his ongoing investigation of delight. For Gay, what delights us is what connects us, what gives us meaning, from the joy of hearing a nostalgic song blasting from a passing car to the pleasure of refusing the “nefarious” scannable QR code menus, from the tiny dog he fell hard for to his mother baking a dozen kinds of cookies for her grandchildren. As always, Gay revels in the natural world—sweet potatoes being harvested, a hummingbird carousing in the beebalm, a sunflower growing out of a wall around the cemetery, the shared bounty from a neighbor’s fig tree—and the trillion mysterious ways this glorious earth delights us. The Book of (More) Delights is a volume to savor and share.

✓ Let's show our children the beauty in our diverse cultures and the joy of being inclusive early. Caleb, a new neighbor joins a festive themed playdate. Will Riya and her friends be able to make Caleb feel comfortable? Diversify your library with a children's book that talks about Diwali, Christmas and Hanukkah and how we can all sparkle with kindness. A great way to transition to early chapter books. A must have for any child who wants to learn a little more about these festivals, the world around them and how we truly sparkle! The Sparkling Me Series books for global kids is geared to empower kids aged 6-9. Perfect for boys, girls, early readers and elementary school students. Excellent resource for counselors, parents, and teachers alike. ** Reading guide and lesson plan for this book available on RaisingWorldChildren.com/learnmore .

Make small changes to your surroundings and create extraordinary happiness in your life with groundbreaking research from designer and TED star Ingrid Fetell Lee. Next Big Idea Club selection—chosen by Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Dan Pink, and Adam Grant as one of the "two most groundbreaking new nonfiction reads of the season!" "This book has the power to change everything! Writing with depth, wit, and insight, Ingrid Fetell Lee shares all you need to know in order to create external environments that give rise to inner joy." —Susan Cain, author of Quiet and founder of Quiet Revolution Have you ever wondered why we stop to watch the orange glow that arrives before sunset, or why we flock to see cherry blossoms bloom in spring? Is there a reason that people—regardless of gender, age, culture, or ethnicity—are mesmerized by baby animals, and can't help but smile when they see a burst of confetti or a cluster of colorful balloons? We are often made to feel that the physical world has little or no impact on our inner joy. Increasingly, experts urge us to find balance and calm by looking inward—through mindfulness or meditation—and muting the outside world. But what if the natural vibrancy of our surroundings is actually our most renewable and easily accessible source of joy? In Joyful, designer Ingrid Fetell Lee explores how the seemingly mundane spaces and objects we interact with every day have surprising and powerful effects on our mood. Drawing on insights from neuroscience and psychology, she explains why one setting makes us feel anxious or competitive, while another fosters acceptance and delight—and, most importantly, she reveals how we can harness the power of our surroundings to live fuller, healthier, and truly joyful lives.

What could be more familiar than the Christmas story--and yet what could be more extraordinary? The cast of characters is strange and exotic: shepherds and magicians, an emperor and a despot, angels, and a baby who is Almighty God. The strangeness calls for an explanation, and this book provides it by examining the characters and the story in light of the biblical and historical context. Bestselling author Scott Hahn who has written extensively on Scripture and the early Church, brings evidence to light, dispelling some of the mystery of the story. Yet Christmas is made familiar all over again by showing it to be a family story. Christmas, as it appears in the New Testament, is the story of a father, a mother, and a child--their relationships, their interactions, their principles, their individual lives, and their common life. To see the life of this "earthly trinity" is to gaze into heaven.

From Confucius to Saint Augustine and Beethoven to the blues, a rediscovery of the joy that is music In this revelatory book, Daniel K. L. Chua asks a simple question: Is music joy? For Chua, the answer is a resounding yes--music is a lesson in joy that teaches us how to live well. But to hear this ancient knowledge, he says, we have to attend to a music that is so much greater than our greatest hits. Drawing on extensive sources, from the Confucian classics to the writings of Saint Augustine, Chua's book is a globe‑trotting, time‑traveling, mind‑boggling journey to rediscover the joy that is music. Using examples from Beethoven to the blues and from philosophy and theology to music theory, Chua updates the relation between music and joy and argues for its relevance in the face of our many political and environmental crises. He opens our ears to a music that is the very definition of joy for today's troubled world.