Your Joy Is A Signal Flare

The day is ending, and you feel the armor finally dropping. You laugh, and then the guilt hits hard.

You worry that your joy is a betrayal of the people you love who are still in the dark. You think if you smile, you are saying their pain doesn't matter.

But light does not mock the darkness by shining. It simply proves the darkness is not the only thing that is real.

There was a father who saw his son coming home from a long way off. He ran.

He didn't wait for the son to fix himself first. He ran while the son was still covered in the dirt of his mistakes.

The father's joy did not erase the son's shame. It made a space large enough for both to exist.

Your joy is not a rejection of their suffering. It is an invitation.

A signal flare in the night that says: there is still life here. You do not have to dim your lamp to make them feel less alone.

The light that lives in you is meant to be seen. Let it shine.

It might be the only thing that shows them the way back.