One More Smile

Some smiles carry entire lifetimes inside them. A smile can be armor, a peace offering, a plea, a mask so well-worn it feels like skin. It can be a last defense against collapse, a habit formed in the shadow of survival. The world loves a smiling face—so we learn, early and often, how to give one, whether it is real or not.

But beneath the practiced curve of lips, there is always something more. There is the weight of what was never said, the exhaustion of pretending, the grief of being unseen. And yet, there is also resilience. There is also hope. There is the quiet, trembling insistence that even through all that has been endured, there is still a self waiting to be witnessed.

Healing is not about erasing what came before. It is about reclaiming what was buried beneath performance. It is about offering ourselves one more smile—not the one given to please, to deflect, to disappear, but the one that arises unbidden, the one that blooms from within. It is about meeting our own reflection and seeing someone real staring back. It is about knowing that, even in our most fractured moments, we are worthy of joy, of authenticity, of being known in full.

One more smile—but this time, let it be yours.