You Are Not Required To Feel

The day has finally stopped moving, and the silence you are left with feels heavy. You are tired—not just from what you did, but from the effort of pretending you felt anything while you did it.

There is a weariness that comes when the heart goes numb just to keep going. But listen.

The light does not ask you to perform joy for it to stay. It is not a guest that leaves when you stop smiling.

It is the very air you are breathing right now, even in the exhale. You do not have to manufacture a feeling to be held.

The Father's love is not a reward for your enthusiasm; it is the ground beneath your feet when you have no strength left to stand. Tonight, you are allowed to be empty.

The light was there before the numbness, and it is here in the quiet after the noise. You are not required to feel everything to be loved by everything.