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What if joy isn’t a feeling you chase but a habit you practise with people you trust? Coming out of Sukkot, we reflect on days spent in simple spaces, sharing meals and songs, and talking bluntly about happiness—how to name it, grow it, and protect it when the world gets loud. The conversation starts with language: just as northern cultures hold many words for snow, our tradition holds many words for joy, and those nuances become tools for building an inner life that doesn’t collapse at the first gust of stress.
From there we zoom out to time and priorities. Blink and the toddler is a teenager; blink again and you’re wondering how decades vanished. That speed forces a choice: let urgency set your aims or define success around what actually compounds—character, presence, and service. We also wade into the hot-button word abstinence, not as rejection of beauty or comfort, but as restraint with a job. When some voices profit from our endless wanting, it’s wise to learn from people who can want less and see more. We explore how desire doubles—why having more often breeds wanting more—and how to place money, pleasure, and status under a larger purpose so they enrich rather than erode our lives.
This is a practical, grounded path: small boundaries that restore attention, rhythms that melt stress, councils that aren’t for sale, and measures of progress that feel like peace. If you’ve ever felt trapped between consumer hustle and spiritual cliché, this conversation offers a third way—joy as a disciplined, generous posture toward time, work, and each other. If it resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a quick review so others can find these ideas too.

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