The Quiet Work of Becoming

 There is a kind of work no one applauds.

It doesn’t trend. It isn’t dramatic. It rarely photographs well.

It looks like folding laundry when your hands are tired. It looks like making one more phone call when your heart is already full. It looks like pausing in the middle of a hard day and choosing not to become what hurt you.

Most of the most courageous people I know don’t feel brave. They feel weary. They feel unsure. They feel like they’re doing the bare minimum just to keep standing. And yet, day after day, they choose to remain tender in a world that has taught them to armor.

This is the quiet work of becoming.