Thursday, December 09, 2010

What is the opposite of Joy?

What is the opposite of joy?

Misery? Sorrow? Grief?

Leslie Weatherhead said, “The opposite of joy is not sorrow. It is unbelief.”

I read somewhere that the opposite of joy is fear.

My cousin Matt said that the active form of joy’s opposite would be hate.

Isaiah 35:1 =
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom;like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.

So, is the opposite of joy “wilderness”?

When I posted the question on Facebook Wednesday afternoon, there were 11 unique responses in 35 minutes. And the words people offered were very different – misery, sorrow, summer, despair, dissolution, sadness, loneliness, anguish, apathy, emptiness, and complacency. (I think the “summer” response was supposed to be a joke.) I also liked Ed’s response, “A week without church.”

It is fascinating that so many different words were offered by different people. That says to me that “joy” is a deep and multi-faceted idea, open to a wide range of interpretations. See, I’m thinking about the opposite of joy as a means to understanding joy itself. For example, if the opposite of joy is “sorrow” or “sadness,” are we saying joy the same as happiness? Surely not, if what we mean is the superficial feeling of momentary pleasure that we call happiness sometimes, but maybe so if we’re talking true happiness, which then begs the question, what makes happiness “true?”

“Apathy” and “complacency” are kind of in the same category; a neutral and uninspired approach to life. “Emptiness,” “loneliness,” and “dissolution” are similar. “Misery” and “despair” each have a hopeless, lethargic feeling, whereas “anguish” seems to be more active.

If none of the words my Facebook friends suggested are precisely the opposite of joy, it can certainly be said the joy does not include any of these things. None of these are ingredients in the recipe for joy. But are their opposites?

Apathy’s opposite is ardor or fervor, or maybe passion.
Complacency has a lot of meanings, but would awareness maybe be its opposite?
Emptiness, loneliness, and dissolution are opposed by fullness, relationship, and completeness.
For misery and despair we might go with delight or maybe hopefulness.
And anguish’s opposite is something like comfort or solace.

Mashing all of that together, joy might be an ardent awareness of the fullness of life that instills solace and hopeful delight.

So, how does that work for you?

8 comments:

LillianMorris said...

Hello! I was surprised in a good way as soon as I loaded this web page of your domain. What was your goal at that moment when you received an idea to build this website?

Just_Jenn said...

I just stumbled onto this post as I'm writing a blog post of my own, which has spiraled in directions I certainly hadn't anticipated. :) Just wanted to say that I love your final definition of joy - it's wonderfully accurate! Nice work.

Unknown said...

I do not know what to comment here on your website. However, I am following your all works and post then wish you all good luck. You are working great.
digital marketing services in india/

thomus jons said...

Hello, I am thomus jons thank you for this informative post. That is a great job. Wish you more success.Thank you so much and for you all the best. Takes Down
123movies

Anonymous said...

HealRun is a health news blog we provide the latest news about health, Drugs and latest Diseases and conditions. We update our users with health tips and health products reviews. If you want to know any information about health or health product (Side Effects & Benefits) Feel Free To ask HealRun Support Team.

qoao pakis said...

Supplements For Fitness state agencies, the criminal mind that intentionally taints the supplements continues to reap the benefits of their actions. The unfortunate reality is the waste of the whole supplement industry because of these charlatans.

Suplementarios said...

Suplementarios >>> La autenticidad de nuestro sitio web es claramente visible a través de salud y estado fisico con

el nombre mencionado en él. Tenemos el mejor producto relacionado con la salud aquí y la tendencia a ofrecer nuestro mejor apoyo a los huéspedes que buscan

detalles de los suplementos y comparaciones entre ellos. Para más información amable >>> http://suplementarios.es/

http://suplementarios.es/sizeplus/

http://suplementarios.es/keto-guru/

Candyce Herr said...


It looked like a very good Keto Advanced Fat Burner. Once you get into the swing of things, you may really like Keto Advanced Fat Burner. I presume we'll see a high percentage now. Maybe I may be completely off base relating to it. Is there anywhere pros earn exquisite Keto Advanced Fat Burner ways?


Keto Advanced Fat Burner