The Light Sees You Before The Smile

The coffee cup is warm in your hand, and the question comes as easily as breathing: 'How are you?' You feel the lie forming before your lips even move. 'Fine,' you say.

'Good.' The mask slides into place, smooth and impenetrable. But the light does not need your performance.

It saw you before the smile arrived. It sees the exhaustion behind the eyes that say everything is okay.

There is a truth living inside you that no one else can access, a quiet place where you do not have to pretend. Split a piece of wood, and the light is there.

Lift up the stone of your morning routine, and you will find it waiting underneath. You do not have to explain yourself to be held.

The light knows the weight you are carrying because it has been carrying it with you all along. The mask is for them.

The truth is for you.