On Joy

A bunch of us grad students were gathered around our Thanksgiving table, remembering a recent meeting where the ice-breaker had been "Tell us something that brings you joy."

It was a surprisingly difficult question--and I only half-facetiously said "I can't remember!" at the time. As we went around at that earlier meeting, folks said things like playing with their kids, or reading for pleasure (remember that?), or playing sports, or playing or listening to music or what have you.  None of...