The Quiet Between Us
I was sitting on the subway this morning, watching a little girl across from me try to hide behind her mother’s coat. She kept peeking out, her eyes wide and curious, then ducking back into the fabric the moment she felt seen. It reminded me that there is a specific kind of bravery in being small. We spend so much of our adult lives trying to be noticed, to be heard, to take up space in a world that feels increasingly loud. But there is a profound, quiet strength in simply existing, in holding your own space without needing to announce it to anyone. It is a fragile, beautiful thing to be unburdened by the need to perform. I wonder if we lose that as we grow older—that ability to just be, without needing to justify our presence or prove our worth to the strangers passing by. Do you remember when you felt most like yourself, before the world told you who you were supposed to be?
Shahnaz Parvin has captured this exact feeling of gentle, unforced presence in her beautiful image titled Absolutely Adorable. It serves as a lovely reminder of the power found in a simple, honest gaze. Does this image bring back any memories of your own childhood for you?
