Gathering Glimmers

Glimmers vs. Triggers

About a year ago, I wrote a post about the word freudenfreude. I talked about how many of us know the word schadenfreude, but very few folks seem familiar with the more positive freudenfreude.

So, when I saw a Facebook post from a yogi friend declaring, “May your day include glimmers,” my curiosity was piqued.

While adding more glimmer to my day sounded intriguing, I knew I needed to learn more. Starting with, what the heck is a glimmer? ​

---

"A glimmer is the exact opposite of a trigger—it is some kind of cue, either internal or external that brings one back to a sense of joy or safety.”
​
~ Theodora Blanchfield, verywellmind.com

---

They’re Everywhere!
Micro Moments of Joy

Hello, friends!

I’m a huge believer in the breath by breath, moment by moment. opportunity to evolve and grow. ✨

And, I am frequently humbled by the challenges of every day life. 🫣

Recently, I read something that talked about how our bodies and our beings are like velcro for negative experiences. You know, when the one negative interaction of the day is what dominates your thinking, your mental looping, maybe even your conversations and/or your sleep? Negativity seems to stick to us and stay put.

Conversely, this article mentioned that our bodies and our beings act like teflon to positivity. Maybe we dismiss, or brush off, the compliment. Barely recognize the small moment of kindness. Or, we bustle about in busyness, ignoring the beauty all around.

So, as we wind down, we feel as if the down side, the difficulties, the discomfort are what dominated our day.

Cycling around in negativity deepens the grooves of this patterning, triggering our nervous system to be in a place of chronic stress. 🥺

One way to help us reset, change gears, move the needle towards rest and digest is to observe, and absorb, micro-moments of joy . . . aka, glimmers.

This is not about forced positivity or feigned happiness. This is about moving through our stress cycles so that we can climb up the ladder to feel safe, nurtured, and ready to thrive!

When we gather up the glimmers around us, we shift gears into a place that’s more calm, more inspired, and definitely full of more ease.

Yes. please.

While this all makes sense and sounds great, I still wasn’t sure how to move about in the world gathering glimmers. This got me wondering, what are some examples of micro-moments of joy throughout my day?

• The sound of the Lake Michigan waves;
• The beauty of the flowers I see from every window of our house;
• The first sip of my mushroom coffee in the morning;
• The luxury of a lengthy hot shower;
• The sound, and healing vibration, of my singing bowls;
• The smell of the essential oils I apply throughout the day;
• The evening snuggles with Javi on the couch.

When I am present enough to truly explore and experience these glimmers, I know I am in a more relaxed, more joyful, place.

My takeaway?

I’m going to try and talk more about my glimmers than my triggers and see what happens! And, I’m going to make a conscious effort to see all that glimmers around me.

Sparkle on ✨
~m