The Importance of Joy

About this episode

Mary discusses the importance of cultivating joy even in difficult times and how it can help regulate despair.

Oftentimes when things are especially awful, we think that joy may be inappropriate and that we must stay focused on the difficulties. But this is not the case. Bhikkhu Bodhi says that cultivation of joy is important to regulate despair. In this talk Mary discusses what gets in the way of joy and how to allow it into our lives. Equanimity means being present for everything that shows up, even the good. Recorded April 25, 2026 in the virtual world Send me a text with any questions or comments!...

People in this episode

Host: Mary Stancavage

Topics covered

• joy
• despair
• equanimity
• cultivation
• mindfulness

Keywords

• joy
• despair
• equanimity
• Buddhism
• mindfulness
• cultivation

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• Sad - No Problem · June 2, 2026 · 11 min
• The Intimacy of Now · May 25, 2026 · 20 min
• Do Not Take What is Not Freely Offered · May 18, 2026 · 28 min
• Finding Freedom with the Way it Is · May 5, 2026 · 19 min
• The Dhammapada and the Lizard · April 21, 2026 · 16 min