Recently, Pamela Anderson tweeted a video of a tranquil lake at sunset, accompanied by the following words of wisdom:
Every one
Should enjoy
A peaceful sexy life
X content
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First of all, yes. Co-sign. But more than that, something curious happens to me every time I think of this sentiment (roughly once every 30 minutes since it was posted). My face softens. My eyes gently close. My mouth forms a slight, satisfied smile. Meditating on “a peaceful sexy life,” I’ve realized, is the closest I get to the emotional state I always strive to embody: the relieved-face emoji.
The relieved face is, without question, the nicest emoji out of the nearly 3,000 available. It’s the best, too, but it doesn’t concern itself with competition. It’s not showy like the eggplant, passive-aggressive like the slightly smiling face, or tormented by its desires like all the horny ones. It’s just hanging out, perpetually chill, not bothering anybody. Crucially, it’s not bothering itself.
According to Emojipedia, it “conveys various pleasant feelings, including contentment, calm, peace, and relief,” and “may also convey feelings of happiness or good-natured humor more generally.” If you were wondering what a flesh analog would be, the closest one I’ve found is this picture of Drew Barrymore serenely resting her chin on her hand and blinking while this photo was being taken.
The relieved face, along with being pleasant and unobtrusive, is applicable in a surprisingly wide range of scenarios. Here’s but a small sampling of times I’ve used it recently:
• When a friend texted to tell me about a hookup
• When a friend sent me a photo of Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler sitting courtside at a Lakers game
• When a friend texted to tell me that her night out ended with her eating beans on her couch at 2:00 a.m.
• When my husband sent me a photo of our dog sleeping
• When I urgently texted a friend to ask if it was true that Jeremy Renner broke both his arms on the set of Tag and she replied, “He did!! And they had to do CGI on his arms for a lot of scenes.”
I’ve also found myself sending it in reaction to less pleasant information, like when an extraordinarily inane controversy breaks. In these instances, it says, “I take comfort in knowing that everything is exactly as dumb as I thought it was.” I’ve surrendered to the relieved face, and it feels pretty 😌.
