Fear and Joy

Can there be joy without fear? By numbing the fear in our lives does it also numb the joy? This makes me think of the relationship between hot and cold. In reality there is no such thing as “cold” it’s just a word we made up to mean “the lack of heat” so instead of saying something is very “not hot”, we say it is very cold. The same situation is true of light and dark, there is no such thing as “dark” it’s just word that means, “the lack of light.” It’s easy to explain these things, because we can perceive that something is hot or cold, or light or dark. At the core of it though, it’s just whether or not there is energy in the system. We can perceive the energy. I wonder if this system doesn’t apply itself to mental energy as well, AKA motivation. Is fear just a word we made up to mean a lack of joy, or is joy a word we made up to mean a lack of fear?

I think this depends on where you draw your motivation from. In my system currently, my energy, my motivation seems to be powered by fear. Fear is a broad term; it applies itself to most things. It’s a core emotion. I am afraid of pain, either physical or mental.  I am motivated to avoid pain. I am motivated by the fear of pain. So in my system Joy is the made up word, it just means the lack of fear. This also means there is a lack of energy, a lack of motivation.

I believe the system can also work the other way, where people draw their energy, their motivation, from joy.  They are energized by joy, in their system fear is the made up word, it just means the lack of joy. But for this person, when they are afraid they lack energy. This would be a person who would crumple under pressure. So unless they feel joyful, there would be a lack of energy, a lack of motivation.

I think both systems have their merits. A person who draws their motivation from joy is probably happier overall. It could be possible that a person could learn to draw their energy from both sources. So as to be strong under pressure, but be able to be content when there is nothing to be afraid of. It’s a matter of whether you can rewire your brain to switch energy types. It’s not exactly easy to convert your diesel truck over to electricity, even if you did, it probably wouldn’t be as powerful as before. Or maybe it’s more like switching to rocket fuel, if which case it might be more powerful. I really can’t say which outcome is more likely.