There are people in this world
whose bodies are still preparing
for things that are no longer happening.
Even in peaceful moments.
Even while being loved.
Even while life is finally asking them to slow down.
A tightness in the chest.
A jaw that never fully unclenches.
Shoulders carrying years they should have never had to carry alone.
Most people do not even notice it anymore.
It becomes the way they move through life.
Braced.
Alert.
Careful with how deeply they feel.
Careful with how much they receive.
And after enough time
the body begins to memorize it.
The expectation of disappointment.
The anticipation of loss.
The assumption that peace is temporary.
So even when life becomes softer
they remain guarded against it.
Until they begin doing the work.
Not to become someone else
but to stop identifying with the version of themselves
that believed they had to stay in survival to stay safe.
The inner conversations change.
The assumptions change.
The way they speak to themselves changes.
And naturally
the body follows.
The breath reaches deeper.
The shoulders loosen without being told to.
The nervous system stops treating softness like something unfamiliar.
People speak about manifestation as though it only exists in external things.
But sometimes manifestation looks like this.
No longer flinching internally
when something good stays.
No longer needing to prepare for loss
before anything has even happened.
No longer organizing your life
around the assumption that peace cannot last.
Just a gradual return
to softness.
To safety.
To the version of yourself
that no longer feels the need
to brace against life itself. 
JLK