The camel’s knees are nearly buckling, and its back is ready to snap. It can’t take any more.

We often talk about the breaking point, the moment everything collapses.

But everything has an opposite.

Though we don’t always notice it during times of overwhelm, things happen that pull us back. Often the tiniest thing will prevent us from breaking down.

The client that extends the deadline, the cancelled meeting, the rattle that you heard under your hood that ends up being little more than a benign loose bolt.

Life often pushes us to our mental limits. We never know when that one little thing might be the one that breaks us. And we notice every little thing that pushes us closer — dwelling on the mental pain.

Yet we rarely see the ones that save us. The little things that work out, the close calls, the good things.

The straws that save the camel’s back.