I forgot what calm feels like until tonight

Dear Delyara, The house was finally quiet, my phone was in another room, the lights were low, and for about fifteen minutes I remembered what calm actually feels like in my body. Not numbness. Not distraction. Not exhaustion. Calm. It made me realize how long it had been. I stood there by the sink after making tea and almost cried, not from sadness, but because I had forgotten that my body could feel that unbraced. That’s what too much ongoing stress takes from you. It makes peace feel unfamiliar.