I watched my shadow on the pavement today and it looked more confident than I felt. It moved like it knew where it was going. I stood there for a while just watching it, wondering when I stopped being the one in charge of my own body. My back hurts from the way I sit hunched over screens. My eyes are dry. I don't notice these things until they've been going on for weeks.

Somewhere along the way I started treating my own body like an inconvenience. Something to keep running so I could keep working. It files complaints - a sore shoulder, a headache that won't break, the feeling of being cold even inside. I keep ignoring them. I have been ignoring them for longer than I want to admit. When did you last listen to what your body was actually asking for? Not what the app said, not the tracker - just the plain quiet voice that says stop.