the panic that rises when you catch yourself enjoying a moment of stillness, convinced you are stealing time you haven't earned

The Light Does Not Charge Rent

The house is quiet now, and for a second, the noise in your head stops too. Then the panic hits.

You feel like a thief. Like you are stealing minutes you haven't earned, sitting here in the dark while the work waits and the worries pile up.

You brace yourself to move, to fix, to earn the right to breathe. But listen.

The light does not charge rent for the stillness. It was there before you started striving, and it is there now that you have stopped.

The rest is not a reward you get later. It is the ground you are standing on right now.

You are not stealing time. You are finally accepting the gift that was already placed in your lap.

Drawing from

Gospel of Thomas, Matthew

Verses

Matthew 6:34

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