Dropping the Shield in Morning Light

The sun is just beginning to touch the horizon, turning the gray sky into something soft and gold. In this first light, the house is quiet enough to hear your own thoughts, and you catch yourself doing it again — defending them to someone who loves you.

You hear their voice coming out of your mouth, a shield you have been holding so long your arm has forgotten how to drop. The light does not ask you to drop it yet.

It simply sits with you in the silence, waiting for the moment you realize the shield is heavy. Thomas says if you bring forth what is within you, it will save you, but if you keep it buried, it will destroy you.

The thing buried inside is not their excuse for hurting you; it is your own truth, waiting to be spoken. The morning is here.

The night is over. You do not have to carry their voice into the day.