The Spinster's Exploits

My lovely switchy sub and I were chatting in bed as you do – and to my delight I discovered he too was a fan of the wonderful Dalai Lama and the much-missed Desmond Tutu. And he’s never seen “Mission Joy – With Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Dalai Lama”. It’s now 10 years old but still available on the BBC iplayer. What an opportunity! It immediately got added to our film list – it followed our viewings of “Shrek”, “How to Tame Your Dragon”, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Burn After Reading”. We’re very eclectic…

Having a memory that was always dodgy plus my advancing age, meant that my recall was sketchy, but I remembered laughter, joy and mischief. And it was there, but so much more. As a non-god-fearing, born again heathen I am non-religious, but I have a strong sense of spirituality and for me, it simply shines from both these lovely men. And they are so physical and giggly in a way I find touching and entertaining.

This 2015 film has the simple remit of showing how it is possible to find joy despite life’s challenges. And it absolutely does what it says on the metaphorical tin – and so much more, as said. It may break your heart, but it then mends it. I have decided to watch it every year as I had forgotten so much.

And I had totally forgotten the emphasis on the actual science of happiness. The Dalai Lama is very interested in science generally and he instigated research into happiness which is another of my obsessions. My lovely switchy sub pointed out that it looked like  the Dalai Lama had been at the forefront of the science of happiness as he had commissioned pioneering scientifc research into joy and happiness – Amazing!

I recommend that everyone watches this fabulous film and spread the joy…