We often say the opposite of happy is sad. But what about anger? We often overlook anger as a triad of these emotions. But anger still isn't the same as sadness. We never hear of people comparing sadness and anger as the same sort of emotion. But how does happiness fit into this triad?
We first need to examine what joy's roll is for us. Joy or happiness is present when something in our environment is beneficial, something we like is present, or when something happens that sparks a memory that was happy. Now anger and sadness are presented in the same way just with differing igniting factors. Now think, can we also say the opposite of happy is angry? If you couldn't think of an answer let me simplify it even more. Is the opposite of a negative emotion a positive emotion? Most likely you thought yes.
People often believe happiness is the goal. We strive to be happy and try to diminish any negative feelings. In reality we should be striving for a balance. We couldn't have and appreciate any one emotion without the others.
Here's the thing, we need to stop simplifying each emotion. Happy isn't just happy, it can be love, faith, optimism, excited or anything else that provokes a positive feeling. Sad isn't just sad, it can be empathy, compassion, understanding, nostalgia or anything else that sparks a tender and almost vulnerable feeling. Angry isn't just angry, it can also be passion, power, justice, pride or anything else that gives a sense of meaning or success.
In reality we don't go our day-to-day lives feeling pure joy, sadness, or anger. There are layers to these feelings. In most cases there are mixes of these emotions like melancholy, miserable, and bold. Heck, there are even more basic emotions we feel other than these three. We can feel suspicious, hesitant, brash, and copious of other things. We need to stop the mindset that kindergarteners have. As we get older our feelings mature with us, but in this day and age we think of them so basically.
So what is the opposite of happy? Well, it's everything you and I feel. There cannot be an exact opposite.
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