Relief is the opposite of disappointment. It’s the pleasant feeling that comes when gloomy forecasts about the future are contradicted. Relief is unfulfilled doom, a second shoe that never drops. What disappointment and relief share is the realization that the future is much less certain than it was supposed to be.
Suffering in the present can be relieved, but even within the feeling of present relief is the impression of a better future. Relief isn’t just about a pause of pain in the moment, but includes a welcome feeling that the suffering will continue to be absent for some time to come.
Conceptually, relief is a cousin to lift. In art, a relief is a form of carving in which the subject appears to emerge from a surface, though in fact the background has been carved away. Emotionally, relief is a metaphor that imagines suffering as a weight that is lifted from the person who has been carrying it. When we are relieved, we move about with greater ease, enjoying the freedom that comes with the loss of our burdens.
The sensation of elevation shows that relief isn’t just the absence of suffering. It’s an experience in its own right, an emotional perspective that leads to the perception of new dimensions of possibility.
