# Joy **Domain:** Emotion / Well-Being **Doc Type:** Concept Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition **Joy** is an enlivening experience of connection, vitality, gratitude, or meaningful participation that expands a person's willingness to engage with life. ## Mechanism and Practice Joy is socially transmissible through expression, attention, and reciprocal response. A cheerful presence can alter the emotional field of an encounter, while the response of others reinforces the original state. ## Relationships - **Related concepts:** [[wiki/Gratitude|Gratitude]] · [[wiki/Love|Love]] · [[wiki/Community Support|Community Support]] ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “Going out in public and being happy changes lives. People are connected through their nervous systems, so a cheerful, kind presence lifts those nearby, and their brightened mood shines back. Everyone is a reflection of everyone else.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Belief, Language, and the Psychosomatic Feedback Loop - Livestream (May 2018)* [[reminders/Joy/Happiness Changes the People Nearby by Bryant McGill|Happiness Changes the People Nearby by Bryant McGill]] > “The absence of fear is no substitute for the presence of joy. People who feel little fear are not necessarily wiser or better; what matters is the curiosity, delight, and generosity that emerge once fear no longer dominates.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Courage, Creative Risk, and Moving Through Fear - Livestream (Dec 2018)* [[reminders/Joy/The Absence of Fear Is Not the Presence of Joy by Bryant McGill|The Absence of Fear Is Not the Presence of Joy by Bryant McGill]]