Joy, the most positive of the emotions, is also the most elusive. Seek it and you may not find it. Try to experience it directly and it may elude you. But live a normal life and it will appear spontaneously.
Joy does not occur so much on its own as it does as a by-product of something else: a pleasant surprise, a happy thought, a good friendship. In other words, this emotion is indicative of feeling good about oneself, others, and life in general.
-- Beaty, J. J. (2006). Observing development of the young child. (6th Ed.) New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall
14 years ago
