Real Happiness at Work (by Sharon Salzberg)
I decided I better get my act together and read this book before I retire in a few months! Even though I love my job and my decision to retire is bittersweet, I can always benefit from more peace in the workplace. I adore Sharon Salzberg and appreciate her wisdom.
Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement, and Peace teaches readers how to incorporate meditation into their work life to better cope with stressful meetings, pressing deadlines, and difficult people. Sharon presents the Eight Pillars of Happiness in the Workplace, which include balance, concentration, resilience, integrity, meaning, connection, compassion, and open awareness. Each chapter offers stories from her students to illustrate each concept. Sharon provides exercises and meditations that can be performed at work to strengthen our ability to have peace at work.
Since I’m retiring, I didn’t think I would take away much applicable knowledge from this book. I was completely wrong! I listened to the stories Sharon shared from her students and applied them to my daily life, not just my work life. For instance, balancing tasks and how I go about completing tasks. I love to-do lists and always have projects in the works; at work and home. The chapter on compassion affected me deeply. Sharon frames compassion regarding how we treat coworkers and customers/clients; however, when I heard the stories, I thought about treating others with compassion regardless of the environment or relationship. There is a story about a taxi cab driver and his last customer of the day. I was in tears driving to work as I listened to this incredible story. Sharon includes stories of people performing all types of jobs. I was surprised to find stories of people who work in a similar environment as I do. I loved this book and see its application regardless of your work status. It’s great for young people starting jobs, people amid a career, or those of us leaving the workforce.
Real Happiness at Work was waiting patiently in my Audible wishlist when I noticed it could be added to my library for free. I’m so grateful for my Audible membership! Sharon narrates the audiobook, which is the best way to listen to her books.
I have been learning from Sharon Salzberg for several years. She has a strong presence in the meditation arena and is a leader in the loving-kindness practice. She has a podcast, Metta Hour, which I highly recommend. You can access it here.
My husband and I attended the Ram Dass Mountain Retreat in 2022, where Sharon appeared via Zoom for a lecture. You can read about my retreat experience on my blog here.
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