[Intro: Slow, dramatic piano chords, solitary and echoing, mimicking an empty theater] [Verse 1: Intimate, spoken-word pacing, close to the microphone] Loving deeply starts with your very own self. I learned self-preservation when bad times came at a very high price that I could not afford. I was nearly dying from the inside. [Pre-Chorus: Tempo picks up slightly, rhythmic strings enter] I was a one-man show. I was the manager fixing everything that was falling apart all at the same time. The show had to be on time—no delays, just on time. I was worn out. [Chorus: Theatrical, sweeping strings, passionate vocal] The show must not show any fractures. After all, that was the main goal. People expect a perfect presentation every single time, don't they? Cracks were not in the brochure anyway, so they weren't meant to be in the show. It would be inconceivable to show flaws; the show would go bankrupt. Showing cracks was not an option. [Verse 2: Heavy emotional weight, voice showing strain] I had to learn how to make the show go on, put a smile on my face like everything was a breeze, and learn how to keep going. Every day my bones ached, and I still had to keep the show running. No one could replace that one-man show. I am the main character; no substitute is possible. No one else could take my place and fill my flesh like a man fills a mascot suit. [Bridge 1: Stripped back to solitary piano, deeply vulnerable] I wasn't in denial, though; it was the only way to go. Sometimes, I am still recovering from that debt, but I know soon the good Lord will return it sevenfold, and more than the amount I spent. Loving others may cost you decades without you knowing. Sometimes you may love others out of fear—fear of change, by manipulation, by standards, by principle, or false convenience. [Verse 3: Steady rhythm returning, building determination] I will always remember the day I made that decision; I was shaking to the core of my soul. Do yourself a favor: be honest with yourself and ask if this is really nurturing you. Are the boundaries you set being respected? Someone who truly loves you will respect the line you draw in the sand. [Chorus 2: Powerful, triumphant, gospel undertones starting to swell] Loving yourself is respecting your very own boundaries. Violating them would be violating your own love. The purest form of love is loving someone fully, one hundred percent as they are, with all their unimaginable worst and flaws hidden in the shadows. You absolutely don't need to stay. If your heart tells you to run away, you shall listen to it and run fast. [Bridge 2: Orchestral swell, heavy percussion, belting vocals] Don't accept compromises. They will keep you stuck again. Accept the truth within your heart and stick with it. It will save your life. Your heart knows what's best for you. Let me tell you the best secret survival tool: The good Lord whispers and gives you instructions in your heart. Learn how to listen, and don't let others tell you otherwise. [Outro: Stripped back, angelic choir fading in softly, reverent and peaceful] It was almost too late when I learned this. I will never turn back. Thank you, good Lord, for walking me through and providing me with strength and light without me knowing it. [Final fade: A single, warm piano chord] I love you, God. [End]