“The Questions We Carry”
We keep asking, “When will it be my turn?” as if happiness is a train we might miss. We question whether we deserve it, as though joy is something to be earned and not simply lived.
But what if—just for a moment—we imagined a world without the small mercies we take for granted? No phones to call our mothers. No way to hear a loved one’s voice. No certainty that the people we cherish are safe.
We are luckier than we know.
The Exhaustion That Doesn’t Show
You’re tired. Not the kind that sleep fixes, but the kind that sits in your bones, in the space between breaths. The word “Breathe” feels hollow, like a sticker slapped over a wound.
I know. Nothing makes sense right now. But one day, it will.
Happiness Hides in Plain Sight
It’s there—in the ping of a message from someone who remembers you. In the quiet relief of knowing the people you love are okay. In the way the universe sometimes, miraculously, gives you exactly what you needed without you even saying it aloud.
For me, happiness is:
- Seeing someone I love smile because of something I did.
- Knowing I made a hard day easier for them.
- The first sip of coffee in the morning light.
- A child’s laugh, unguarded and bright.
We don’t always see these things as happiness—not until they’re gone. But why must loss be the thing that teaches us how to love what we have?
Don’t let the fear of tomorrow steal the quiet joy of today.
What We Have, Others Dream Of
The roof over your head. The warmth of a bed. The food in your kitchen. The fact that you can pick up your phone and hear the voice of someone you love.
These are not small things. These are miracles.
What Happiness Feels Like to Real People
- Magz, 35 – “When my son says something so clever it makes me wonder how I got so lucky.”
- Jennifer, 27 – “Waking up and deciding today will be better than yesterday.”
- Layla, 27 – “My mother told me happiness isn’t something you wait for—it’s something you choose in the little things, right now.”
- Tiya, 20 – “Coming home to someone who cooked for me, sharing wine and stories like we have all the time in the world.”
- David, 25 – “That moment after struggling, when you realize you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.”
- Edmund, 13 – “You can’t have a good day without it. So why not start looking for it?”
- Jihad, 29 – “It’s like lighting a candle—not just to see your own way, but to help others find theirs.”
- Nathaly, 26 – “It’s not in things. It’s in people who put your happiness before theirs.”
- The MadShad, 39 – “A unicorn. But maybe magic is real if we let ourselves believe.”
- Rita, 23 – “Realizing that every step forward, no matter how small, is its own kind of victory.”
- Yara, 22 – “Don’t wait for someone else to bring it to you. Build it yourself, then give it away.”
- Ryan, 22 – “A ladybug on a leaf, making me pause and remember the world is still beautiful.”
- Roy Rash, 26 – “The sun rising, the stars at night—proof that the world was made to amaze us.”
- Aya, 21 – “It’s not something you can hold. It’s something you feel, then it’s gone—but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t real.”
You Don’t Have to Wait
Happiness isn’t a prize at the end of the race. It’s the air in your lungs right now. The way the light falls through your window. The fact that you are here, alive, and someone out there would be lost without you.
Pick up the phone. Tell someone you love them. Breathe in, breathe out. This is your life. Don’t miss it while waiting for happiness to arrive.
It’s already here.
By Cosette Awad
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