No More Auditions

I thought if I was perfect enough, gentle enough, successful enough, love would settle in and stay this time. But the rules kept changing, and every approval I earned dissolved into silence a moment later.

Then something broke, not in anger, but in clarity. I stopped chasing what should have been freely given. I stopped auditioning for safety.

Now, when I feel that old pull to prove myself, I choose presence instead. I let the discomfort rise and remind me: that was then, this is now. I’ve stepped out of the pattern.

The peace isn’t loud. It’s calm, almost quiet. But it’s mine, finally mine.