Fixing My Face in the Driveway

There’s a difference between being composed and being closed.
I’ve done both.
When I’m composed, I have room for you.
When I’m hiding, there’s barely room for me.

There’s a difference between being composed and being closed.
I’ve done both.
When I’m composed, I have room for you.
When I’m hiding, there’s barely room for me.
𝘼𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨… 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙠. This quote means a lot to me. I have an allergy to “therapy-speak”, but this… this is the real deal. She’s describing real self-work. I’ve spent the last year learning what I think, working out what I feel, unlearning what’s not…
I realized recently that I have a lot in common with this fish.⠀The white-spotted pufferfish spends days in constant, meticulous motion. He wiggles in the sand to carve a pattern of perfect symmetry, building a sanctuary before a partner ever arrives.⠀That’s what I’m doing with this page.⠀While this project is a means of self reflection…
I once thought being strong meant being quiet.It turns out it often meant being afraid.I carried weight without naming it. I thought that was love.It kept me hidden from the people who mattered most. I “protected” others from truths I thought would hurt them. It made us strangers. I’m learning to say the truer thing…
I’m more of an eyes man than an ears man.It’s not the silence that gets to me.Some silences are connection.It’s the feeling of not being seen anymore that can ache.Is that when it lands for you, too—the missing, the quiet lack of being seen?
Sometimes I think about the possibility that you’re already out there.Not searching. Just… living.Going about your days with a soft ache you can’t quite name.Maybe you don’t know I exist. Maybe you never will.But I’m here. Quietly. Open.If you’re here too, that’s enough for now.
Neglect doesn’t always look like walking away. Sometimes it looks like staying, but no longer being curious.