How can we be happy if we don't have an accurate definition of what joy is or where it comes from?

That's the question we address in this episode of The Rabbi and the Shrink.

Here are the bullet points:

Eight words in Hebrew translate as joy or happiness -- all have root meanings of growth or progress.

Budding -- the joy of potential about to be brought into the world

Blossoming -- the joy of growth about  to reach fruition

Satisfaction -- absolute fulfillment, which succeeds joy, but is often followed by letdown

In the West, we conflate happiness and pleasure.  Pleasure is not a source of happiness, but distraction from unhappiness

Pleasure and pain are not opposites; they go hand in hand

Joy contains an element of the transcendent

Is joy a function of purpose or of connection?  Or are these really the same?

Find joy in correcting our mistakes

Happiness is a choice we make that emerges from gratitude

If I'm entitled, I have no gratitude and nothing to work toward

Achievement without struggle can be deeply dissatisfying

Happiness comes from choosing the things that matter most and relinquishing the things that matter less

We have to let go of pettiness if we want to attach ourselves to nobility

Investment is not sacrifice; maturity is recognizing that we can't have everything

Don't be a monkey trapped by its own unwillingness to let go

What's in your monkey trap?