THE GAP

 

The universe has a sense of humor.

People… have a script.

A fire station burns down. That’s irony.
No meeting. No statement. No carefully worded explanation.
Just the universe going, “Oh… you felt safe? That’s cute.”

A firefighter gives a speech about safety… then takes the batteries out of his own smoke detector because it chirps at 2 a.m.
That’s hypocrisy.

Same topic.
Wildly different commitment.

A dentist gets a cavity. Irony.
A dentist lectures you about flossing like it’s a moral obligation… then flosses twice a year and calls it “seasonal.” Hypocrisy.

A marriage counselor gets divorced. Irony.
A marriage counselor says “communication is everything”… while living a life that requires passwords, lies, and excellent memory. Hypocrisy.

A fitness trainer throws out their back picking up a sock. Irony.
A fitness influencer sells “no excuses”… and then builds a brand on angles, lighting, and emotional support leggings. Hypocrisy.

You get the idea.

Irony doesn’t try to impress you.
It just shows up… knocks over your drink… and keeps walking.

Hypocrisy?
Hypocrisy makes a speech about hydration… while holding your glass behind its back.

Irony humbles you.
Hypocrisy elevates you… falsely.

Irony says: you’re human.
Hypocrisy says: you’re better than them… and hopes no one looks too closely.

And we are exceptional at spotting it.

In politicians.
In influencers.
In that one guy from high school who discovered “mindset” three Tuesdays ago.

We see it.
We screenshot it.
We send it.
“Can you believe this?”

And then…

we walk right past the mirror.

Because most hypocrisy doesn’t look like a villain.

It looks like a gap.

Small at first.
Almost reasonable.

Between what we say…
and what we actually do when it costs us something.

It’s telling your kids to be patient…
while checking your phone mid-sentence because something “quick” feels important.

It’s saying “family first”…
while answering one more email at the dinner table like you’re the CEO of Absolutely Nothing Urgent.
(I’ve done that. More than once.)

It’s preaching kindness…
with a tone that could sand wood.

And here’s the part no one likes to say out loud—

People don’t leave because you’re imperfect.

They don’t leave because you messed up.
Or forgot.
Or had a bad day on a random Tuesday.

They leave when the gap gets too wide.

When the person you say you are…
and the person they actually experience…
stop sharing the same address.

Because eventually… quietly, consistently…

your life starts talking.

And it doesn’t use your best lines.
It doesn’t quote your captions.
It doesn’t care about your intentions.

It just shows your patterns.

And the people who love you?

They stop listening to what you say you believe…

and start living with what you actually do. ❤️