"In an episode of the TV series Chicago Hope, an anesthetized patient sees the spirit of a departed friend. He asks him what God wants from us. 'He wants you to feel joy' is the reply. 'It really offends him when people don't do that.'

" 'How are we supposed to feel joy in a world full of pain and suffering?' asks the patient, who had lost both his son and his wife. 'The suffering in this life is enormous.'

"The spirit replies, 'So is the beauty, my friend, but you wouldn't know it. You're not looking for it.' "

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