05/22/2025
A friend shared this post with me and I wanted to pass it along. It is a beautiful and real portrayal of knowing and loving yourself. Blessings to the author and to you.
……………………………………………………………
I’m starting to understand the ones who go quiet—not because they’re cold or indifferent, but because silence is the only place where they can truly hear themselves. It’s not about shutting people out—it’s about shutting out the noise, the pressure, the expectations that drown out their own voice. They don’t leave to hurt anyone; they leave to heal, to pause, to breathe without having to explain or justify their pain.
Sometimes, the strongest people aren’t the ones who keep showing up everywhere—they’re the ones who know when it’s time to retreat, to step back from the chaos and give themselves permission to rest. They disappear without warning not because they stopped loving or caring, but because they reached a point where survival meant solitude. And in that silence, they start to rebuild—not for the world, but for themselves.
Life can get overwhelmingly loud. Everyone wants a piece of you. Everyone wants you to be okay, to be strong, to be available. But no one talks about the emotional cost of constantly being “on.” So when someone chooses to step away, to be unreachable, to go quiet—it’s often the bravest thing they could do. It’s a radical act of self-respect.
Now, I see the quiet power in those who come back—not rushed, not broken, but grounded. Their minds clearer. Their hearts softer, but wiser. Their boundaries no longer made of fear, but of self-awareness. They didn’t return because they had to—they returned because they chose to. With purpose. With intention.
They’ve learned something in the stillness. That being there for yourself isn’t selfish—it’s essential. That you can’t pour from an empty cup, no matter how badly you want to be there for everyone else. That sometimes the most honest kind of love is learning how to say, “I need time.”
And now I get it—really get it. Sometimes the only way to come home to yourself is to leave everything behind for a while. Sometimes, the most powerful return is the one that follows silence, healing, and a whole lot of courage.
Anonymous