Landslide

I woke up and went to open my phone, but I paused. I sat up from the sofa where I'd crashed and took a few deep breaths.

Despite all the setbacks and soul crushing disappointments I'd had over the past lifetime, some tiny part of my soul still had hope, still had a light in the darkness.

And so, as I breathed and paused, I tried to protect that light with cynicism and pessimistic pattern recognition before I turned on my phone and went to the news app.

I saw the headlines.

The light glowed just a little bit brighter.