I Ate Because I Was Hungry, Not Because I Earned It

Dear Delyara, This sounds so basic, but it mattered to me. I ate tonight because I was hungry. Not because I had “earned” it. Not because I had worked hard enough to deserve nourishment. Not because I had behaved well enough to allow myself care. Just because I was hungry. I don’t think I realized how much of my life had been built around conditional self-kindness until I started undoing it in small moments like this.