The Feminine Principle

You function. You act. You achieve. You tick off what needs doing and face the next task. From the outside this looks efficient — perhaps even admirable. But inside you notice something you can barely name. A dryness. As though someone has closed a spring that used to feed you. You get things done, but they don't nourish you. You meet people, but you don't truly feel them. You lie in bed in the evening, exhausted, and sense that exhaustion alone doesn't explain why you feel so empty.