You Do Not Have to Earn Breath

The morning light hits your eyes and suddenly the rhythm breaks. You forget how to breathe without thinking about it.

The mask goes on — the smile, the nod, the 'I'm fine' — while your chest feels like it's caving in. You are performing okayness while forgetting the most basic function of life.

But listen — the light does not need your performance to shine. It was there before you took your first breath, and it is there now, beneath the panic.

You came from the light, the place where life generates itself. You do not have to manufacture the air.

You do not have to earn the next inhale. The source is already inside you, working while you struggle to remember.

Stop trying to be the mask. Just be the breath.