the sudden, cold realization mid-laugh that you are performing joy to keep others from asking if you are okay

The Light Sees Your Exhaustion

The laugh catches in your throat, sudden and cold, because you realize you are performing joy to keep the questions away. You wear the mask so well that no one sees the exhaustion behind the eyes.

But the light does not need the performance—it sees the one who is tired of pretending. There is a truth inside you that was there before the act began, and it waits for you to stop hiding it.

What you bring forth will save you; what you keep buried will only deepen the silence. The light is not fooled by the smile, and it is not waiting for you to be okay—it is already with you in the breaking.

Drawing from

Gospel of Thomas, John

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