DW and I enjoy watching "Lie to Me" on Netflix. It's a show about a guy who reads facial expressions and body language to see if someone is telling the truth or lying. There are certain micro-expressions that that people make when something happens, which they can't control.

So, last night, DW was talking about the GAs at conference, and how they talk in a monotone way, without very much facial expression. They talk about being filled with joy, but their expressions tell a different story.

Ruthm's thread about being broken made me realize something. After you've been beaten down, any bit of niceness is appreciated, and it comes with a feeling and expression of humiliated happiness, the joy of relief. It isn't a "true" joy, but a feeling of gratitude that the pain has temporarily stopped.

That's the expression I've been seeing all these years at conference and in F&T meetings, and that's why it seemed so out of place to me. Real happiness and joy look very different. For me, it produces big smiles and happy dances, not the look of an abused puppy who is now so glad you're not kicking him anymore. I have yet to watch a game on TV where a critical goal was scored, and the players suddenly stand still, look mopey, and tell how excited they are. It just doesn't happen. However, I have seen videos of rescued POWs who wear that mopey, humiliated, grateful expression and talk like that.

So, what does joy and happiness look like to you, compared to the joy expressed by the Brethren?

Gack. I prefer whatever the alternative is.

Viagra commercials where the speed talking goes into the spiel about an erection lasting four hours. That point, right there, that is what joy looks like.

...if you "have an erection lasting longer than four hours?" Is there some kind of antidote they're not telling you about. And what's the "serious injury" they're warning you to avoid if this happens? I do hate it when they don't tell me this stuff.

Blood clots or in extreame cases the tissue in your penis will die, rot, and fall off...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priapism
Potential complications include ischemia, clotting of the blood retained in the penis (thrombosis), and damage to the blood vessels of the penis which may result in an impaired erectile function or impotence. In serious cases, the ischemia may result in gangrene, which could necessitate penis removal.

I thought the joy was when you called your friends to brag...

The look, actions and sounds eminating from my dog, Xada, when we come home from work. That's it.

Ron

Substitute my dogs for yours and you've got my answer.

thats it alright!! :)

Mormon joy looks like:
A controlled expression, a look of sudden guilt for leaping up in happiness, a measured response to a joyful event, a look of stern expectation as if they wish you to accept their professed happiness.

Mormon joy feels like:
A pat on the back for doing a good job, feeling accepted for your conformity, an elusive carrot on a stick, and most of all a guilty pleasure when you feel really happy.

Joy is a stranger to most Mormons, and it is never found in their meetings. Nor in their books.

Joy looks and feels like a lover's kiss

stormy

...the look on YOUR face as you realize how much you mean to her. :-)

I used to date a girl named Joy. She was nasty,,cute but nasty.

*insert joke about orgasms*

It's about 10 inches high, plastic, with a squirt top and full of viscous yellow liquid. And it smells lemony fresh.

tell if someone is telling the truth, etc. however, there is an important part of this idea that needs to be recognized: the culture/ethnicity of the people.

Clearly, we know that people show many facial expressions very differently in different cultures, ethnicity, etc.: Asians, American Indians, Monks, English, Scottish, Buddhists, Amish, Mormon,Eskimos, Italians, Muslims,African tribes, and a hundred other groups of people have defined long standing culturally acceptable expressions.

Joy for me looks like a pleasant, content expression. It might be laughter.

True. Cultures do have a big influence on how emotions are expressed. Some are more natural than others.

I love "Lie to Me" also. Great show. Joy to me is expressed not just in a facial way but in your actions. You want to DO for others. YOU want to plan things for your family or friends.... or complete strangers - in a volunteer way. Joy of course can be lots of laughter too. As far as places go, a beach will bring joy to me ALWAYS!

It is obvious when joy is not present. It is the behavior of a robot-like person. One who does not talk much or talks only to criticize. When joy is absent, the person spends more time feeling sorry for himself than counting his blessings in this life. Many of us have lived with individuals like that. I can usually spot people in situations, work or social, that obviously have no joy in their life. It's really sad.