Excerpt from The Art of Happiness at Work by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Howard C. Cutler, M.D., plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"So, take the example of a person who likes to eat sweet things, but doesn't like sour things. Then there is a certain kind of fruit that this person enjoys. That fruit may be mostly sweet, but it may also have a little bit of sourness in it. That person continues to enjoy the fruit, they don't stop eating it because it has a little sour taste. If they want to continue to enjoy eating that fruit, they have to accept the little bit of sourness in it. You can't separate the sweet from the sour in that piece of fruit; it is always going to be mixed. Life is just like that. As long as you are living, life will have good things but also some problems that you don't like. That's life."

So, life is tough. It seemed a grim truth upon which to be ending our meeting. And as if perfectly staged to underscore that dark note, at that moment there was a sudden crash of thunder and a deafening torrential downpour outside that muffled our words as we said goodbye. An instant later the electricity went off, an almost daily occurrence during this season in Dharamsala. The Dalai Lama was completely unruffled. In fact, his warm smile and cheerful manner were set off in bold relief against the darkened room and the ice storm raging outside. Clearly here was a happy man. Everything about him bespoke the possibility of leading a happy life despite life's inevitable troubles. He himself had weathered his fair share of problems, the loss of an entire nation as he was forced into exile as a result of the Communist Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet. And he continued to tackle difficult problems on a daily basis-struggling to preserve his cultural heritage, fighting for the freedom of his people, for the human rights of all people. And often without success. Yet since the age of six, he had been engaged in the training of his mind, learning how to remain happy despite life's unavoidable adversities. It seems to have paid off.

So, he reminds us that if we can change some of the external conditions at the workplace that contribute to our dissatisfaction, we certainly should. If not, although it is always easy or quick, it is still possible to be happy at work through reshaping our attitudes and outlook, through inner training.

From The Art of Happiness at Work. Copyright The Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler 2003. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, Riverhead Books.