The space between Then and When

You’re here, then you’re not.

Between the Then and the When, life happens.

In this middle is who you are.

Live thy middle well.

Life, it is a messy masterpiece nobody will frame.

Stretch out that soft, squishy middle

like pizza dough over knuckles,

letting the air pockets rise and burst

with happiness you didn’t schedule.

Wear hats that smile at the sun

and laugh in the rain.

Let your presence splash happiness onto friends

the way sunlight uses gentle rain to paint colors across the sky.

Treat your worries as faded photos

glance, grin, then toss them in a shoebox somewhere.

Collect tiny existential crises while taking the long way home.

Put extra toppings on a stranger’s day by saying hello.

Stay up late just to watch the moon mind its business

and let the sun wake to your light.

Say “I love you” first, and loud.

Say “I was wrong” even louder.

Say, “Why not?” Whenever the universe invites you to be spontaneous.

And when you finally reach your When

the middle will already be humming,

still warm from all the living you did.

You let it hold.

You’ve lived your middle well.