Pain.
It’s not something you can touch or see,
but it’s something you feel.
And, man, it’s so personal.
So raw.
So heavy.
Yet, so many of us judge it.
we judge the pain of others,
we dismiss it,
we don’t get it.
And here’s the thing:
you can never truly understand someone else’s pain
until you’ve lived through it yourself.
I know it’s easy to look at someone and think,
“Why are they so broken?”
“Why can’t they just let it go?”
But what you don’t know is that behind that smile,
behind that mask,
is a person who’s been fighting battles you can’t see.
It’s easy to look at someone’s life
from the outside and assume everything is fine.
But listen,
just because they look like they’ve got it all together,
doesn’t mean they do.
I’ve been that person.
Smiling, pretending,
keeping my head up,
making people believe that everything is alright.
But inside?
Inside, I’m breaking.
And you wouldn’t know it unless you looked deep.
Unless you paid attention to the cracks in my eyes,
the weight in my words,
the silence in my soul.
There’s this idea we have, right?
That if someone is strong,
if they can handle the world,
if they can carry everyone else’s load,
they must not need anyone.
But that’s the biggest lie we tell ourselves.
The truth is,
the ones who carry everyone else’s pain,
the ones who are always there for others,
the ones who keep things together…
are the ones who need it most.
They need someone to notice the broken pieces they keep hidden.
They need someone who doesn’t just see them,
but really sees them.
I’ve been there, sitting in my own silence,
wondering if anyone would notice.
Wondering if someone would see past my smile
and into the heartache I was trying to hide.
Because that’s the thing,
you can’t always see pain.
Sometimes, it’s quiet.
Sometimes, it’s subtle.
And sometimes, it’s buried under the weight of keeping it all together.
And when it hits,
when the weight becomes too much to carry alone,
that’s when the walls start to crack.
That’s when you find yourself in the bathroom,
on your knees,
praying,
asking for help,
but no words come.
You just sit there, in the silence,
crying,
the kind of crying you didn’t know you had in you.
Tears that have been waiting to fall for so long,
but no one’s been there to hear them.
But that’s where it gets real,
because we all want the same thing.
We want to be seen.
We want someone to notice that even though we’re strong,
we still need someone to hold us.
We want someone to know that we’re not invincible,
that we’re human.
And we don’t need someone to fix us.
We don’t need someone to tell us,
“It’s going to be okay.”
We just need someone who gets it.
Someone who looks at us and says,
“I see you.”
“I see your struggle,
even when you don’t speak it.”
“I see you, and I’m not going anywhere.”
The ones who have to stay strong for everyone else,
they don’t ask for much.
They don’t want grand gestures,
they don’t want you to swoop in and fix everything.
What they want,
what I want,
is simple.
We just want to be chosen.
Not as a backup plan,
not as an afterthought,
but as a priority.
Someone who says,
“You matter.
You’re worth the time,
you’re worth the fight,
and I’ll show up for you,
even when you don’t have it all together.”
It’s not too much to ask, right?
It’s not too much to want to be loved without earning it.
To be loved even when we’re broken,
even when we’re a mess.
To be loved without having to put on a mask.
To be loved because we’re human,
because we’re worthy,
just as we are.
I know it’s hard to open up.
It’s hard to let people see the parts of you
that are still healing,
still scarred,
still trying to find peace.
But we have to stop pretending.
We have to stop hiding behind the smile.
Because, in the end,
no one can heal what they don’t see.
So next time you see someone who seems fine,
ask yourself,
Are they really?
Because chances are,
they might be hiding something.
They might be carrying something heavier than you think.
So maybe instead of judging,
instead of offering empty words,
maybe just be there.
Just listen.
Just show up.
Just see them.
Really see them.
We all walk through something.
We all carry something.
And we all need someone to walk with us,
not ahead of us,
not behind us,
but beside us.
The journey doesn’t have to be so lonely.
And we don’t have to wait until we’re broken to ask for help.
We don’t have to wait until we’ve fallen apart.
All we need is someone who’ll say,
“I see you. I’m here,
not just because you’re strong,
but because you’re human.”
And when someone chooses to walk with you,
when they choose to see you for who you really are,
even with all the cracks,
even with all the pain,
that’s when you know you’re not alone.
That’s when you know you’re truly seen.
MBCITV OFFICIAL (@officialmbci_tv) • Instagram photos and videos
“Walk in Their Shoes” Spoken Word BY WALKING SHA
Leave a Reply