Oppression—whether through a job or relationship—dims life’s broader joys. True liberation doesn’t arise from ignoring pain but from reclaiming agency. Struggle, though painful, often unlocks alignment with one’s values, imbuing life with urgency and potential. Even failed attempts at change awaken a sense of openness lost in false stability. Security without agency breeds inertia; freedom without certainty breeds possibility. Joy thrives not in comfort alone, but in the pursuit of becoming. Thus, it is through the resistance to constraint that the contours of joy become most visible.