"Everyone Is Happy"
"Everyone Is Happy” was the headline from the New York Times on July 10th as the world learned that the Thai boys and their soccer coach had all been rescued from a cave. And it was true, wasn’t it? How wonderful it felt to have been united globally in the wish for their safe return home! When was the last time we all pulled for the same outcome in something: across borders, religions, and every other line that so often is used to justify division? For 18 days those children were all of our children. We wished for an end to their ordeal and now we share in their joy as if these were our own kids coming home.
This is Empathetic Joy in action - feeling joy for others’ joy as if it were our own. If we stop to think about it, we realize that there is a limitless amount of joy available to us on a daily basis. Celebrating the good fortune of others as if it is our own good fortune opens up boundless reservoirs of happiness for us to tap into. And it reinforces the notion that we are all connected, all in this together, all pulling together. We are all human. We all wish to be happy, healthy, safe. If we pay attention, we realize that what unites us is so much deeper than what divides us.
So, can we use this opportunity to practice seeing all children as our very own children every day? And since children are just young people, can we practice seeing all people as our kin? How might that shift our engagement with the world around us?
(And as a very important aside, the boys’ coach kept them calm while they were in the cave and prepared them for their exit by teaching them to meditate! Here is a great op-ed on that point.)
We hope that you can join us as we tap into the limitless reservoir of joy in the world.
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May all beings feel the good fortune of others as their own,
Your friends at CMP
