Life Is Full of Sweet Spots

How to Use This Book
The geography of joy is, by its very nature, a case of boundless discovery. It is an exploration of the world’s horizons, a look at where we are most likely to find joy, and a start in the course of gathering ideas on how to make such places our own. We'll want to remember that word, start, as the exploration of joy is an unending process.
The words in the following pages are exactly that: starting points. They introduce us to some of the many elements and species that distinguish the earth, the sea and the sky, and help us realize how their beauty, harmony and powers make us inwardly hum. Then, moving deeper into the life-force of the natural world, we'll explore the gifts of our body and its natural senses, of our minds and our souls, and observe how they contribute to such miracles as feeling and hearing, to the calming power of spiritual strength.
We'll be guided along the way with both anecdotal and research-based narrative, words that bring us back in history to the days when kings bathed their bodies in precious oils, or take us to the present with studies that prescribe just 20 minutes of daily walking in the woods to energize our bodies and our souls. We'll keep an eye out, too, for helpful lists that pop up throughout the book, suggestions of favorite places to see the stars or to fill our pockets with shells.
Accompanying us on our journey are a mix of people from across the United States, Canada and Australia—artists, gardeners, mothers and fathers, lovers of music and of the scent of saffron, those who have traveled beyond the edges of a particular sweet spot. Not surprisingly, the things of which they speak are ordinary as well as remarkable—things like digging in the dirt in the backyard and finding delight in the digging, or taking lessons from the butterfly and discovering joy in its magic.
Told in an individual's own words, each Case in Point is a personal story of how and where he or she personally found relief, fulfillment or simple contentment in life. Each is given as a real life illustration of the dynamics of joy—how its discovery is an everyday affair. Then, in a nod to the everyday-ism of the discovery of joy, notable quotes from characters as dissimilar as Winnie the Pooh and Albert Einstein appear from page to page for thoughtful reflection.
The French novelist George Bernanos once said that the secret of happiness is to find joy in another's joy. The stories told in the following pages go a long way towards paying off those words, though they still leave a long way for each of us to go on our own. Each story, each reflection, each little detail, is simply an opening. They are intended only to suggest ideas and provide encouragement in our continuing process of discovery. It is up to each of us to make of them what we will. I found myself mulling them over, reflecting on them, tucking them away for further thought and deliberation. In the hopes that you, too, will enjoy chewing over what you read and hear before coming up with your own personal take-aways, many of mine are offered as "Food for Thought" at the end of each chapter.
As with the women who found a breath of fresh air when writing their circle poems, we will want to think about what we see and hear throughout the book, to learn from its stories and prescriptions of such things as walks in the woods and journeys to places unknown and set about making them our own. To help us do so, the book concludes with a section of More to Explore—a directory of Internet links to relevant resources, destinations and activities. Including websites and listings of museums, galleries, and cultural venues, More to Explore is a virtual smorgasbord of interactive tools for finding and exploring sweet spots.
That, after all, is what Life is Full of Sweet Spots is all about. It is a guide, a companion piece, an entertaining, as well as inspirational, way to find and explore those special spots that may delight and bring us joy in our journey through life. So let us begin.