staring at your reflection in the foggy mirror and forcing the corners of your mouth up until the expression looks believable enough to pass inspection

The Light Sees Through Your Mask

The mirror fogs up, and you practice the shape of a smile until it looks like someone who is okay. You pull the corners of your mouth up, just enough to pass inspection, hoping no one sees the ache behind the glass.

But there is a light inside you that does not need to be performed, a radiance that sees right through the mask you wear for the world. It knows the difference between the face you show and the heart you hide.

You do not have to hold the expression together for the light to recognize you. The mask is for them; the truth is for you.

The light was already there before you woke up and put the armor on.

Drawing from

Matthew, Gospel of Thomas

Verses

Matthew 6:22, Thomas 24

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