How to be happy about other people’s happiness.

September 30, 2016

img_1722This has been a month full of gratitude, mostly because I’ve been practicing Mudita, this week’s Yoga Tool, without even realizing it.

In Yoga, Mudita is described as the unselfish interest we take in other people’s lives, and the joy we feel in their accomplishments. In everyday life, it’s described as “difficult.” But is it? I thought so, until I took a look at what was making me happy this month.

First, I got to see Jimmi Simpson in a play. Jimmi is an actor (House of Cards, Westworld) who is a big creative and spiritual inspiration for me; he’s following his dharma while maintaining his integrity and being as kind as a bodhisattva can be. (I talked to him about his rescue pups Gummi Bear and Mouse for PetSmart Charities.) Part of my joy in seeing Jimmi live in Colt Coeur’s production of Empathitrax was sharing in his joy of doing what he’s meant to do.

When we’re happier, we send the radiance of our own divine inner lights out toward others.

It’s the same joy I feel when my friend Francesco Clark rocks people’s worlds with the story of starting his award-winning skincare line after having an accident that left him quadriplegic. And when my Yoga teacher pals start their own businesses. Feeling happy for others makes us happy, too.

And when we feel happier, we move more smoothly through through the world, sending the radiance of our own divine inner lights out toward others. That attracts people to us, and things just seem to go better. That’s my story, anyway, and I’m sticking to it.

If you’ve had a good month of feeling joy, whether yours or shared with others, tell me about it. We can all use more good news. Om shanti, divine lights…

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