The incredible heights of joy

Joy is often times an overwhelming emotion. People will cry and howl and fall to their knees due to incredible joy. Joyful relief is especially strong, as it's a catharsis for bottled-up emotions. I've noticed that within the bounds of a story, true joy is particularly difficult to create. I think back on my youth and the scene from the original Star Wars, where Luke destroys the Death Star. The entire story builds up to it, and I was very happy for the characters. Yet, my joy was in seeing the bad guys lose and the good guys come together in victory. Yes, overwhelming joy. Had I been in theaters at the time, I'm sure they were whooping and hollering and clapping each other on the backs.

 

In life, we can easily get caught up in finding joy over any other thing. People waste vast fortunes in pursuit of pleasure, others spend huge chunks of time doing things that only provide joy for a moment before blowing away. Because of this, stories provide a great opportunity to seek joy in a safe environment--after all, the story won't come through the pages and slap you for getting it wrong will it? One of my favorite joyful moments comes from the Heinlein book, "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel." When the hero of the story (a boy who fixed up a used spacesuit and goes on adventures) finally gains his courage and fights to succeed, I was practically dancing in my room. I loved that moment, and actually closed the book to treasure it--I finished the book the next day.

 

Our emotions do define us, just as much as our logic defines us. They can't be removed without tearing apart who we are. It's why we love roller coasters, complicated puzzles, romances, and mysteries. We thrill at having our emotions jostled and sprung. Stories are emotional hurricanes. The funny thing is, we know what we're getting into with a story, because there's always a tease about what the story is about.

 

Joy is the emotion we likely crave the most. We want a happy ending. We want to feel good afterwards. We hope everything turns out, and when it does we still find ourselves elated. Treat yourself to a good story, and find a bit of joy today!

 

- M