On the occasion of this Good Friday and the Easter weekend I would like to share with you a beautiful book I’ve been reading the last week or so, and a photograph I took recently.
Several months ago my sister Karen, the middle of my three cherished younger sisters, emailed a recommendation to The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World.
The Book of Joy is by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, together with interviewer Douglas Abrams. The book arises from several days the two long-time friends, both now in advanced years of worldly experience, spent together with Abrams.
From the dust cover:
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 today’s inevitable suffering?
As The Publishers Weekly review says, “This sparkling, wise, and immediately useful gift to readers from two remarkable spiritual masters offers hope that joy is possible for everyone even in the most difficult circumstances, and describes a clear path for attaining it.”
This is a book I will read again and again and I highly commend it to you. Get it from your public library if you must, but I think in the end you will want to have it in your personal library for regular reference.
As my second Easter gift to you, I share this photograph I took a couple of weeks ago and “embellished” with a pearl of wisdom from the Dalai Lama. The bloom is from a succulent plant we’ve had in a little terracotta pot on our patio for three years and to our astonishment one recent morning discovered this exquisite new development. The entire cluster is not quite two inches across so this is pretty much actual-size.
From The Book of Joy, adapted from the traditional Tibetan prayer of the Four Immeasurables (Loving-kindness, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity*),
May all beings attain happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings never be separated from joy.
May all beings abide in equanimity.
*These are called the Four Immeasurables because they are directed to an immeasurable number of sentient beings, and because the wholesome karma produced through practicing them is immeasurable.
Peace, blessings, and loving kindness my friends.
April 14, 2017 | 
Linda, thank you so much for this joyful gift to all of us. This will be another book I will definitely have in my library. I have some other books by the Dalai Lama and I go back to them time and again for inspiration. Joy is something we all need in our lives in these turbulent times. Thank goodness for Zentangle and this website to help us with that.
I also love your beautiful photo of the succulent flower. The saying at the bottom is so perfect. It is another reminder of the beauty and resilience of life.
Thank you, Linda. I will read it.
Thank you for this lovely gift. Today is my birthday. Nice surprise to find in my email.
Thank you, Linda, for this wonderful and joyous post. All the very best to you. And thank you for this site. It is such a great port in any storm.
Wow! What a gorgeous little gift! A FLOWER for Easter, from GOD!
Awe!
(and pink too!) ^-^
You selected a lovely, and easy-to-remember, quote also. Thank You!
Blessings, Tracy
Dear Linda ~ Please read Melena’s comment again – it expresses my sentiments perfectly!! Thank you. <3
Thank you, Linda, for sharing your gifts with us. You make our days better – and creative. Blessings and joy of Easter to you.
Happy Easter. May God bless you and your loved ones.
Thank you! Best wishes for a love-filled Easter and many joyful days ahead. Thank you for all you give us, a continuous gift of new patterns, stories and joy!
Thank you, Linda. It is a beautiful bloom and quote.
P.S. Your photo is exquisite!
Happy Easter and thank you for this sweet message.
Thanks for the recommendation. The flower is gorgeous.
Thanks for sharing this. I am from South Africa and more than once wished that I could meet Desmond Tutu. I have the utmost respect for him.
Happy Easter, Linda, and thank you for the gifts. They are truly special.
Thank you, Linda! I’ll definitely add this to my reading list. Wishing you peace and joy.
Thank you Linda. Words of wisdom are always welcome and the picture is lovely. I am thinking of trying to draw it! Happy Easter to you and yours… š
Thanx for all the caring and kindness you shower on us, Linda. May peace be with you and our Zentangle friends.
A special treasure to have every day. thank you. happy loving Easter everyone.
Thank you for these really inspirational words. The picture of the blossoms is beautiful. I hope my similar plant also blooms!
Thank you and Happy Easter to you, Linda.
I am thrilled to be practicing tangling. Thank you for the book information, for me, can’t get much better than it except for lovely people passing those words along!
angie
Thank you, Linda, for these beautiful gifts. I needed to hear that today, when I felt discouraged because of the recent developments in the world and in our country.
Many blessings to you and everyone.
Happy Easter Linda. Sending you and Rob hugs from a sunny beach in Tassie!!
Thanks for your book recommendation and lovely cactus flower photo. Happy Easter to you and your family, Linda.
Thank you so much for a lovely gift – it should remind us all what Easter is really about. Especially with al the “rumblings” going on in the world today. Happy Easter
Thank you for a reminder to be kind when possible, and it is always possible.
And, for all your work to this community of artists. Happy Easter.
Darla Rae Duffy
What a lovely post. Wishing you a Happy Easter and thank you for this beautiful message and all of your hard work throughout the year to continually give us the gift of Zentangle. Sending much love…
Yes, it is always possible. Let us all be reminded of that. What a thoughtful and timely gift. Thank you!
So lovely. Thank you. The Dalai Lama is my hero. š
Thank you Linda for both of your thoughtful Easter gifts. With the service you provide for us, I feel that you give me a gift every day and I appreciate you! Have a Happy Easter.
Linda, thank you for the beautiful picture & sentiments of joy that we should we should all try to remember each day, not only Easter Sunday. That’s a good start though!!
May I inquire???? What type of succulent produced that beautiful little flower?
Hi Nanette, at first I was going to say it’s the Home Depot succulent š but after a little digging around online, I believe it’s a Coppertone Stonecrop (Sedum nussbaumerianum). The photo at this link is what it looks like at any rate. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much Linda… We are about to begin a new chapter in our lives…full time living in an RV and traveling throughout the country. This will make the perfect size “green” touches I want here and there in our new home.
Thank you very much Linda!beautifull message..Happy Easter!
Because of health issues, for the first time in my long life, I am not able to attend church this Resurrection Day morning to worship the risen Christ with those of “like precious faith.” So I am doubly appreciative of all the inspirational comments sent online and the blessings via email we can enjoy and share! Happy Easter to all!
As I Yoga-teacher, I try to teach and live this thoughts and behavior every day.
It makes me happy to see all this lovely people around the world working and sharing in this sense.
Thankfullness and respect is a beginning to start kindness in ones’s life.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful site with us.
what a wonderful gift! I am from the same faith tradition as Arccbishop Tutu and have a Lenten book by him in my library. He is a wise and joyful man, and it is easy to figure out why he is friends with the Dalai Lama.
Linda, on your recommendation I just finished this beautiful, warm book. Thank you so much for bringing it to my awareness … I’ve just now informed my book club that it is our read for next month… so the awareness and joy spreads a little more š Thank you again,
Margaret