You Don't Need a Reason

 Hi… I am Ayaan.

 

And this is something I saw on a morning walk that I haven't stopped thinking about.

 

Two kids. A brother and sister walking together seven, maybe ten years old. The sister was slightly older, the brother a step behind.

 

Two completely different humans sharing the same morning.

 

He was smiling. Not at anything. Just smiling. The way children smile when they haven't yet learned that the world expects a reason for it.

 

She was not. Her face carried the weight of someone pulled out of a warm bed earlier than she'd have liked.

 

Same family. Same morning. Same road. Completely different worlds inside.

 

I watched them for just a moment as they passed. And that little boy's smile stayed with me long after they were gone.

 

Because there was nothing behind it. No reason. No occasion. No achievement. Happiness existing on its own… free, uncaused, completely self-sufficient.

 

When did we lose that?

 

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood we learned that happiness needs justification. That smiling for no reason makes you look strange.

 

Why are you so happy? What happened? What's there to smile about?

 

As if joy is something that must be earned. Explained. Defended.

 

I have been asked this myself more times than I can count. And honestly? My answer is simple.

 

I just choose to be.

 

Not because everything is perfect. Not because there's nothing to worry about — believe me, there is plenty. But because my happiness doesn't need to wait for the right circumstances to arrive.

 

That little boy didn't need the world to arrange itself before he smiled. He just smiled. And the world arranged itself around that.

 

You don't need a reason to be happy. You just need to decide that you already are.

 

— Ayaan | Taking happiness lessons from a boy who never got the memo that you need a reason — one day at a time. 🖤