Our Theme - Apr/May 2025

Joy lies in selfless contributions

HF #225 | Christine Stoman

When babies are born, the excitement is tangible and the joy runs deep. Even more so when Louise Joy Brown was born in the UK in the summer of 1978: the world’s first baby to be born via in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Imagine that family’s joy after so many years of disappointment.



Film enthusiasts can watch that story of the three scientists and their dream of helping childless couples in a movie titled, simply, Joy. The film was released in the UK in November 2024. It tells of the opposition from the church, state, media and medical establishment and is based on real events in the 1960s and 1970s. Since that groundbreaking conception, more than one million other IVF babies have seen the light of day. Joy, joy, triple joy.

Perhaps the parents of those babies would choose to paint their nurseries with Dulux’s Colour of the Year – True Joy – a creamy yellow hue. It resonates a feeling of deep contentment.

“Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy: true fulfilment”. So said Tony Robbins, American author.
One person who combines fun & laughter, promising to clear your energy field and promote joy, is Teresia Louwrens from Windhoek. She rolled out laughter yoga in 2022 and had a wonderful season serving others with laughter. Also close at hand is South African Bridget McNulty who is due to publish a book this year titled Daily Glimmers – The art of finding tiny joys every day of the year. That’s one for the Christmas stocking.

In strong contrast to Bridget McNulty’s outreach is the egotistical character in The Fountainhead, Howard Roark. He lived and worked for himself and begrudgingly left a legacy of superb architectural creations. Author Ayn Rand used the character of Howard Roark in 1940s America to spread her philosophy of living-for-self rather than living-for-others. It is not a joy-filled novel, yet a must-read for anyone in the architectural profession or interested in Rand’s philosophy of individualism versus collectivism.

From joyless to joyful: Let us turn to Windhoeker Dawie Fourie’s Who is stealing my Joy? In this 2010 spiritual book by the founder of the African Leadership Institute, he explains how to protect your joy. Unsurprisingly, reaching out to others in pain is a large part of it.

Fourie was the one who gave me the best gift of my life: Jesus, Man of Joy by Sherwood E. Wirt. The introduction was written by actor Bruce Marchiano, who sank his teeth into the book for his portrayal of Jesus in the movie The Visual Bible: The Gospel of Matthew. He explains how film director Regardt van den Bergh (remember?) recruited him:

“Bruce, I have one word for you: JOY! He whipped a dog-eared Bible out of his rear pocket, cracked it open to Hebrews 1:9. “Therefore God, Your God, has set You above Your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy.”

Jesus himself said in John 15:11: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” And knowing Jesus’s offering of himself for us, we come full circle back to what Tony Robbins called life’s deepest joy: fulfillment from selflessness.