Collecting Positivity Like Scraps of Sunlight

At 12,000 feet, my legs were shot, my breath uneven. The summit wasn’t happening, and I had made my peace with that. Almost.

Then, my trek leader said, “You’re doing great.”

I knew she said it because I needed to hear it, not because it was true. But I clung to it anyway. Like a small flame in freezing wind.

Later, when I stumbled into camp, someone offered me tea without asking. Another smiled and said, “Today was tough, huh?” Just that—no judgment, no advice.

I pocketed it all.

You take positivity wherever you find it. A kind word. A shared struggle. A sip of tea after a brutal climb.

Some days, it’s all you have. And most days, it’s enough.