Do I seek validation?

I remember that when I was instructed to write,

"What makes you you?" 

How can I ever express the shifting skies,

The different faces that I wear in disguise?

For I am a mask wearer, with an unseen face,

A chameleon shaped to fill the space

And yet it's the truer me.

Raw and free as I need to be

When no one's around, no eyes can see.

When eyes don't linger, measure, weigh,

I lose the act and slip away.

In solitude, I am softer, wild.

I laugh like a child-free and untamed

No stage, lights or scripted line

Just me in my most sacred design

Isn't it strange how we change

When eyes don't watch, we are far from the norm?

Our steps become lighter, our voices free

We dance with forgotten glee

The world becomes quiet, so do we

Unveiling the soul's truest decree

But in that quiet, shadows creep

From the corners of where we weep

Unspoken grudges buried deep

Arise out of the dark. Slumber overthrown,

The coarser ends, the crude and raw,

Run loose within this cave's cell.

Still, in this night, a gentler glow

A hidden goodness, small, but true

A reserve that abides when none looks on.

We can smile at strangers, turn a penny,

We are the beauties we hide away.

The whispers of love unvoiced.

The smiles ungiven, the warmth unused,

The quiet acts untouched by pride.

What do you become when eyes don't trace

Your every move, your every grace?

Do you seek praise? Do you crave the sound

Of applause that lifts you from the ground?

Do you chase love, hoping to find

Validation from another's mind?

Or do you lose yourself, at last,

In the quiet where shadows cast?

You pursue approval, seek applause,

But hidden shame for what it tosses, do you pay?

You want to fit, to please, to rise - 

But at what cost? What does it disguise?

Do you smother the joy you once held dear,

For the fleeting praise, you ache to hear?

Remember this: You are enough.

Your worth isn't in praises tough.

The value lies within your heart, 

Not tied to how you play your part.

Then let these masks drop one by one,

Finally, you lie naked underneath the sun.

You are free, unbroken, genuine - just you, in all you do.

You'll need no endorsement of your worth to pursue.

No more will you be running some never-ending race.

But in the silence where the shadows dance,

You'll find your value, where it rightly stands.

You will love your light, and you will learn to love the dark

Because both alike are necessary to make your mark.

You are enough in everything you see,

Enough in quiet and in every storm.

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You are worthy. You are enough.

Your worth is not dependent on praise, validation, or approval from other people. It does not grow or fall based on the opinions of others.

Love what sets you apart, cultivate what makes you whole, and honor who you are.