Read This Book

Last night I just started reading a book that's been on the shelf for quite some time but I've barely glanced at. It's called The Good Heart by the Dalai Lama. I've only read the first few pages but it's an amazing book and I already feel a very strong change in my countenance. Even though I'm LDS now I still have a great love for Buddhism. The part I love I don't see so much as religion as philosophy.

When I was having a rough time a few years ago I read the Dalai Lama's book called The Art of Happiness. It's the sort of book that I'll need to read more than once to really absorb, but one thing that has really stuck with me is the difference between "happiness" and "pleasure". I don't apply it as much as I should, but I intend to as part of my whole self-makeover. Pleasure is me eating the entire bag of mini snickers in the cabinet behind me. Happiness is me having one mini snickers bar and having the satisfaction that I'll be able to fit into my pants tomorrow. Pleasure is going to bed without cleaning up the kitchen. Happiness is doing dishes before bed so I can smile when I walk into my kitchen in the morning. You get the idea. Happiness comes from making the right decisions instead of doing what's easy or what feels good at the time.

So back to The Good Heart. I was reading it last night and it really touched me. I was relishing every word, hilighting in the book, and making notes. Then my husband called because he was on his way home from work. I got probably 4 calls from him, each one worse than the one before it. Finally, his car was dead on the Beltway at 9:30 on a Saturday night... not a good place to be. We had the car towed to a dealer and I wouldn't be surprised if after it's all said and done we'd be out $500 which would normally throw me into fits. But I'm actually quite calm about it. I guess it's good I'm spending this glorious Saturday at the office instead of out spending money. That right there truly makes me feel as if something inside me has changed. So go read this book.