Redditor Nolan asked about the times people were left with nothing but a frown:
"What stole your joy? Why do you not have the same zest for life that you once did?"
I feel like my joy was taken with age. But I'm a downer.
Evil Wins
I Did A Thing GIFGiphy"Knowing Bad people win. Not like in movies I enjoy watching. Heroes are silenced or killed early on and the scummiest die peacefully getting away with everything."
Distasteful-medicine
F the Big C
"Incurable, inoperable brain cancer at 36."
"Edit: diagnosed at 34, not 36."
aag3_throwaway
"Hey Hey, mine was at 30, still here 7 years later... no idea how long its been for you BUT although it was always on my mind pretty constantly for the first 4 years, now I have long periods of time (hours, a day) without really thinking about it (and not because of my brain friend chipping away at my memory)!"
Marmots_win
Long Lasting
"Chronic illness and chronic pain!"
frayedbrain
"8 years ago I ate some bad shrimp and got a 3 day long case of food poisoning... and then never got better."
"I've had an 8 year battle with ME/CFS and lost the majority of my 20s to it."
"The pain of knowing that no matter what I do, no matter what happens now, I can never get these years back, takes something from me that I can't explain in words, and knowing that it's going to take more of them is even worse."
flashley630
Passion into Work
"I turned my hobby into my profession. Now I don't have a hobby anymore and I enjoy doing what I do less now that I need to do it in order to get money."
Senappi
"I studied Physics and Astronomy because I had a passion for it as a child. The coursework was extremely difficult, which was okay. The gatekeeping attitude from professors and peers is what killed it for me."
"I was constantly reminded that I was not smart enough to be worth anything in the field. I completed my degree absolutely burnt out and devoid of my initial love. Years later I came back to astronomy as the hobbyist I initially was and accepted that I was much happier not trying to be a professional."
MajesticStars
Zapped
James Earl Jones Reaction GIFGiphy"Upon my husband's death, I learned he lived a double life and had given our savings and my children's college funds to his paramour. Fortunes come and go, but stealing 25 years of my life to live his lies, zapped my joy."
Additional_Ad5659
Death really is the worst. I hate death.
Pain
Headache I Cant GIF by Solomon RayGiphy"IIHC. Idiopathic Intercranial Hypertension."
"Constant headaches, head pressure, Tinnitus, and vision issues."
"Idiopathic, means they don't know sh*t about anything. Just 'try these meds for 3 months and come back.'"
y5e06
It broke me...
"Loss... I lost my dad to cancer. This set off a lot of issues with my mom, depression, alcoholism, medicine abuse, and I was in a different city far away doing my master thesis. I was 23 and I don't have any siblings. It broke me. I used to go around with a smile on my face by default, but that disappeared."
"I've found lots of joy afterwards, but it sure was an experience I still suffer from."
MissNatdah
Being Able
"Being blind. Realizing no matter how good I become at something, able bodied people will and are better. Realizing that I can be an amazing something and never get anything more than you are good for a blind person."
Effective_Meet_1299
"F**k, that hit me hard. I am only half blind, and have mild cerebral palsy, but I've always been utter s**t at any physical activities. I started doing karate, and despite working hard for the past couple of years."
"There's still not a single mildly experienced able-bodied person I can defeat. I've lost all joy in it because I know I'll never be good enough. I'm too tired to even try anymore. And I know it'll be like that with any physical activity I try, which is absolutely crushing as I am a very competitive person by nature."
Karl_the_stingray
Tragedy
"Spouse and 3 kids died in an accident. People said it would take time to feel joy again, but it’s been over a decade now without much change."
"I enjoy little things from day to day now, but there’s no larger point anymore. Life is mostly just a chore."
lovely_ginger
"Halloween made 5 years since my wife and son died. She was 8 months pregnant. He was our first. He died 35 hours later in the NICU. You are absolutely correct. I don't have nor can I find 'big picture' happiness. Just the random day to day uptick that is welcome, but I know it is temporary."
A1A5KA
Hopeless
Frustrated Kill Me GIFGiphy"The realization that no matter what I do, no matter how many hours I work, I'll still never be able to get ahead. Working just to have little to nothing to show for it doesn't feel great."
FearlessVeritas
Well this is a lot. Why is joy hard? But we're rooting for you and your happiness, dear reader.
Do you have any "joy zaps" to add? Let us know in the comments.
"It’s the small things in life that make you happy, so what small thing makes you happy?"
Starry Starry Night
"Stargazing."
"I was wearing glasses since I was 5."
"Each year I would see less and less stars until I could only see the brightest ones, and even then it was hard for me to see them unless I concentrated really hard."
"This winter I had an eye surgery."
"And when I laid down under a summer sky one night, it was as if someone changed resolution on a video lol."
"I honestly laid there for more than an hour, after 17 years finally being able to see all the constellations."- AbbreviationsNice465
All Comfy And Cozy...
"The sound of rain hitting the roof while I'm all cozy in bed."- D3vilUkn0w
Kids Say The Darndest Things
"When my kids use expressions I wasn't expecting."
"6 yr olds were playing rock paper scissors in the back seat."
"Daughter yells up to me 'Dad, you wanna get in on this?!'"
"Or when their fandom lines up with mine."
"Discussing super heroes fighting each other and who would win for 45 minutes at bed time, and I have the biggest smile on my face the entire time."- DrowZeeMe
Playing Happy Children GIF by MOODMANGiphyHappiness Is All Around
"A good song."
"Seeing someone smile after I give a compliment."
"A deep belly baby laugh always puts a smile on my face too."- angie6921
Feline Companionship
"When my cat makes that little brrpppt sound when she wakes up."- AJTwinky
Best Friends Love GIF by TV LandAppreciation
"I'm a pizza delivery driver."
"It doesn't happen very often now that the pandemic is over, but when people leave me little notes on their door thanking me it makes me so happy."
"I keep all of them in my glove box and look at them sometimes when I'm having a bad day."- Artemis7797
"Being acknowledged."- Mission_Anything_429
Sibling Love
"Seeing my kids get along like I always want them to."
"The other day, my wife was out with the middle daughter, and I was home with the eldest, tween, and the youngest, pre-school, daughters."
"It was the middle of the day, and I was working."
"I heard them saying the same random words, walked out of the home office to see what's up."
Season 3 Hug GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"My eldest was helping my youngest practice her sight words."
"I sort of hid to just observe them without them seeing I was there."
"My eldest then helped the little one with getting through a simple kid book and thereafter did her hair and put her in a Moana costume."
"Just seeing them bond warms my heart."- Alarming_Topic2306
With the world in a constant state of uncertainty, not to mention being at what is hopefully the end of a global pandemic, it's very easy to get down on ourselves.
Making it all the more important to be open with our emotions, and take advantage of those seemingly frivolous things which are guaranteed to put a smile on our face.
Even tiniest bit of happiness can go a very long way...
Redditor Jay-ay was eager to know the answer to this question, leading them to ask:
"What would your 15 year old self think about the life you are living now?"
Just Relieved I'm Still Alive!
"I'd be shocked that I was even alive."- Totallycasual
Surprised By My Profession
"'You hated school every single day of your life so far....why the hell did you become a teacher?'"
"'Wait, you've been in college for how long?!'"- Low_Lengthiness_6620
Working The Incredibles GIFNot The Bank Account You Expected...
"'What happened to becoming rich plan?'"- SuvenPan
Womp-Womp...
"Disappointment and shame."
"So much wasted potential."- Rangestalker
Sad Episode 15 GIF by The SimpsonsOld Habits Die Hard
“;You’re still collecting Pokémon cards?'"
"'Prove it'.”
"And I’d take back a card from childhood and a modern card to show him."
"Knowing me, I’d def believe it after that."- DiggingUpTheCorpses
Glorious Disbelief!
"Show 15-year old me a picture of my wife, and he'd think I was lying."- magnushimself
Noting But Pride
"Surprised that I’m doing everything I thought I never could."- dexZZZ
i'll take it tv land GIF by YoungerTVThere can't be many people who are living the exact life they had planned out for themselves when they were 15.
But whatever your 15-year-old self might think of the life you currently lead, all we can do is live in the moment.
So if you are happy with your current life, whether or not it's what you expected, that's all that matters.
We need to hear more good news. I'm so exhausted from the gloom. Cheer me up.
Eat It
"Scientists have discovered a worm that can digest plastic, and they are currently trying to copy it's digestive system. This can help solve a huge problem."
my_username_30
It's Doable
"An Arkansas school district installed 1,400 solar panels, turned a $250k deficit into a 1.8 million dollar surplus due to the amount of energy they saved, and are now raising teachers' salaries by 2,000 or 3,000 dollars."
washyourhands--
"School of dreams!"
InfamousPudding6052
Deep Breathes
"On the surface of Mars, the mars rover was able to successfully separate oxygen from carbon dioxide."
Upstairs_Toe_1402
"That's interesting, but if people are hoping for a breathable Mars, it's far from the only hurdle. Mars' atmosphere is much too thin to ever be surface friendly and IIRC has no ozone layer. Still, it's useful potential technology for any subsurface colony."
imgrandojjo
Webb
"The public release of the first images captured by the Webb space telescope is just ten days away!"
JuniusBobbledoonary
"I've been counting down the days for this! I don't participate in astrophotography myself but I'm absolutely fascinated by it and blown away by what we already have. The Hubble deep-field blew my mind when it really soaked in for me. Webb is immensely more powerful so I can't wait to see what comes through in the future from it."
Merry_Dankmas
Action!
Movie Theater Reaction GIF by CBSGiphy"Some journalist wrote something based off of one of my tweets and now I accidentally named a movie. Even if it sucks I hope the film gets a release since that's a notch on my belt."
artpalos
Now this is the news we need to hear. CNN should sprinkle more of this in.
"Whiskey War"
Alec Baldwin Whiskey GIF by Product HuntGiphy"Canada and Greenland (Government of Denmark) have just come to a peaceful resolution of the 38 year territorial dispute over the highly coveted Hans Island, where they've agree to share the island and split it right down the middle. This is of course the famed 'Whiskey War.' The main aspect of it (swapping schnapps with whiskey or vice versa), I imagine, will remain in some part as a celebrated border-crossing tradition."
i_f**kin_luv_it_mate
Miracles
"Several extremely promising treatments for cancer are being developed."
46from1971
"As someone who lost their dad to cancer, seeing all these breakthroughs is so exciting. He did some experimental treatments, and I know that he helped move some of this along."
OHManda30
"I lost both of mine to cancer… specifically pancreatic cancer for my mom. I heard about the potential breakthroughs with finding a cure for the disease. I’m beyond excited for what this could mean for people suffering."
TheCallousCurd
The kids are alright...
"I was at the Phoenix airport a couple weeks ago. An older gentleman sat next to me at our gate. Both his feet were wrapped in some sort of bandage and he was struggling to get around with a cane. On his other side were a pair of teenagers just giggling over kitten videos on their phones."
"They were strangers but made sure this man got helped to the restroom, had a drink, carried his bag, got to his seat, had access to a wheelchair when he got off the plane! It was seamlessly selfless. The kids are alright. They really are. I'm 47. I am seeing it around me so often."
GoingApeCostume
Wonderful!
"Polio was officially eliminated from Africa last year."
Less_Reflection_7601
"I was in Africa ten years ago and saw it a lot. It's devastating and tragic, and oh so preventable. What a great thing to hear for those people!"
M33tm3onmars
"break the cycle"
Bel Air Reaction GIF by PeacockTVGiphy"More people are seeking to 'break the cycle' of all the crap they had to deal with as children, and I couldn't be prouder."
No-Championship21
You name it...
"The amount of machines in development to clean up plastic pollution is just crazy. Want a large boat patrolling the oceans? What about a small drone for busy waters? A gate stopping plastic in rivers from entering the oceans in the first place? You name it, someone is working on it."
MarcoYTVA
Rubbish
"The ocean cleaner that everyone said wouldn't do anything years ago has carried itself into an outstanding success!"
MsMcClane
"They've also figured out like 7 locations where all the ocean rubbish ends up because of currents. Wonder if this is going to be targeted there now?"
_artbreaker
"Are you sure about that? Last time I checked the number of trash that we dumped in the ocean was several times larger than what any of these projects could clean."
lazyfinger
"trigger"
"Astronomer here! I'm pretty psyched for the first James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) pictures and data, which will be released to the public in just 10 days! One is going to be of the farthest galaxies we've ever seen, and one is going to be of the spectrum of an exoplanet, and probably one or two other things showing the capability of the telescope we don't know yet. The fact that JWST has worked without a hitch, and that we are finally getting to see all this, is so exciting!"
"My own group has JWST time by the way, to study a neutron star merger (I'm not on it, but will definitely be looking over the shoulder of the person in charge when our data comes in!). Our time starts this very month and lasts for a year, and we have no idea when the universe will deliver on the 'trigger' we need to spin JWST in that direction- could be later today, could be in June 2023- I guess we shall see!"
Andromeda321
Hey Jon
Excited John Cena GIF by WWEGiphy"There is a video going around of this Ukrainian refugee woman who told her son that they were going to see Jon Cena in order to get him to escape with her. Jon Cena heard the story and flew over there to see them so he could meet her son."
idk0897
Smells
"I bought a mess ton of milkweed and wildflowers and got rid of 20% of my grass lawn to make a meadow. Bees are thriving in my lawn. I also successfully seed bombed quite a few places in my area from last year's fall that are BLOOMING this year."
SadlyCantGoToEdc
"Good on you! I keep my yard wild and full of flowers. They are pretty but they are for the bees mostly. Have you smelled the milkweed flowers? They smell so good!"
MartoufCarter
501st Legion
"Chapters of the 501st Legion, people dressing as Star Wars characters, visit children's hospitals all over the world. Connecticut has free admission all Summer for kids at museums, zoos and aquariums."
Bigbird_Elephant
"My neighbor is in the 501st! They do a lot of good."
IvoryRosebud93
Killing the Layers
"Ozone layer has been almost 100% repaired after the CFC bans from years ago."
PulverizedAnus
"Really? Do you mind linking your sauce? I didn't think that was possible so soon, like I know CFC's are the worst for Ozone, but I thought there are still plenty of other ozone depleting gases we're producing - methane, halons, nitrous dioxide, etc."
i_f**kin_luv_it_mate
"I've been wondering about this lately. I remember CFCs being called the worst thing for the environment in the 90s, and that we needed to stop using aerosol cans immediately. But I still see aerosols everywhere."
thespickler
I See
Happy Feeling Good GIFGiphy"I know it may be selfish to put here but I’m proud of myself for this. I went from not seeing a purpose in living to living every day with purpose."
DudeManThing1
See there is some good in the world. Let's report more.