Where Does Spinoza’s Joy Come From?
The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding because to understand is to be free.
— Baruch Spinoza
Çetin Balanuye’s “ Spinoza’nın Sevinci Nereden Geliyor? (Where Does Spinoza’s Joy Come From?)” His book focuses on how we can create true joy in a world where we constantly feel unhappy.
This is a book that I bought and read when we were stuck at home during the pandemic and loved it very much. The content of the book is simple and understandable and can be read by anyone. I congratulate our author for conveying a profound philosopher so clearly. Even though it’s been 4 years since I read it, I still feel the need to pick it up and read it again every year. Because the book is both fluent and has an atmosphere that keeps us more dynamic with daily examples.
The fact that our lives consist of inherent encounters in this world makes it neither meaningless nor sad; on the contrary, as our understanding of Nature/God increases, our clinging to life and joy increases.
Perhaps all of life is like playing in the live orchestra of a unique symphonic composition; While each of us, each being, each living or inanimate particle contributes to the holistic melody of the symphony, this infinitely long concert will not be able to be recorded, and no one will be able to listen to the entire performance again. Even so, what is sad about being a scream, a clap, a turtle crawl or an oboe breath in a symphony? Couldn’t living knowing that we are at a cosmic festival, participating in the symphony here and now, be a joyful occupation?
If we only come to this life once, I think it is more valuable to leave sadness aside and create joy. Like taking pleasure in the little things, or actually not attaching great sadness to every bad event… Doğan Cüceloğlu also has a quote that I like very much: “The world will not stop and let you go just because you are sad.”
So with every sadness there is a joy. The main thing is to say to every sadness that comes, “This too shall pass!” To be able to continue on the road, believing that that sadness will pass.
See you again, BECOME BETTER!
