The best way to cultivate joy, Kate Bowler says, is to “lean into small ways of accepting love as an assignment” every day, like the elderly driver called Charlie that she describes meeting in Joyful, Anyway. “Charlie felt that his homework from God was to be tasked with love” in the small interactions he had with people every day. “I do think there is a really interesting alchemy between saying yes to the person in front of you and then being surprised by the magic that comes with that. This is also something I’m learning in the improv classes that I’m taking; joy is highly contagious and it’s something we can give each other through inspiring, small actions. Finding that place of limited agency for joy is challenging, but there’s a lot we can do to prepare the way, and then we have to say yes and lean forward into love.”

That’s the thing about joy: it’s a gift that cannot be earned, a mercy that takes us by surprise every time.