So this week is special for me. Another birthday, another year older! Does this mean I will somehow magically acquire some more wisdom, the golden touch rather than more gray hair, or some cool new insights into life and the world? Maybe not, but I do want to appreciate life more, and to see life’s glimmers whenever I can.

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How to Know and Grow Your Glimmers

You have probably heard the term glimmers? What are they, and how do they help? Let us look at this briefly before I head to the Poetic Sundays section today.

So What are Glimmers?

To put it in a short phrase, glimmers are powerful micro-moments! This term was coined by Deb Dana, a psychotherapist who works in trauma. According to Deb, glimmers are the everyday micro-moments that spark a sense of joy and wellbeing. I love this use of the word and applaud Deb for coming up with it!

Essentially, glimmers are the opposite of triggers. They let us know all is fine with our world, thus calming us and making us happier, even if by a tiny bit. Just like tiny triggers can make things worse, these tiny glimmers can things better. Glimmers are the silver lining to the dark clouds of triggers.

But here is the thing, while we tend to notice triggers, glimmers often pass us right by and we miss them. So we need to be more conscious of them.

How to Know and Grow Our Glimmers?

Like you get to know what triggers you over time, you can learn to recognize your glimmers as well. And when you know them both, you can work towards looking for your glimmers more consciously and avoiding those triggers. While we cannot (and maybe should not) completely avoid triggers, putting the spotlight on those glowing glimmers can improve our mental health and overall well-being.

Recognizing Your Glimmers

• Practice being present in the moment. Pay attention to your surroundings and your feelings.
• Notice small things that make you feel good, such as a warm cup of tea, a smile from a stranger, or a beautiful sunset.
• Keep a journal where you write down positive experiences and moments of joy.
• Notice your emotional reactions. What makes you feel happy, calm, or content?
• Pay attention to how your body feels when you experience something positive. Do you feel relaxed, warm, or have a sense of lightness?

Glimmers

Here are some glimmers I would add to my own journal:

1. Nature: Like I mentioned earlier, a beautiful sunset is one of my glimmers for sure. Likewise, hearing the birds in my backyard, watching the hummingbirds come to the feeder outside my kitchen window, feeling that pleasant summer night breeze as I stroll after dinner.
2. Connection: A genuine smile from a stranger passing me on the street, a warm hug from a loved one, or a spontaneous compliment from anyone at all (including comments on my blog)…
3. Accomplishments: Completing a small task, like making my bed each morning, folding that last garment in my load(s) of laundry, that clean sink!
4. Sensory Experiences: Enjoying the first sip of my cuppa tea, the smell of freshly baked cookies by my daughter, or the soft warmth of a cozy blanket right out of the dryer!
5. Moments of Calm: Finding a quiet moment to myself in a busy day, or listening to my favorite melodic song.
6. Acts of Kindness: Witnessing or participating in small acts of kindness, like helping someone with their groceries or receiving a thank-you note.
7. Personal Growth: Recognizing personal progress, like handling a stressful situation better than before or learning something new.
8. Playfulness: Sharing a laugh with friends (like I did this past weekend), playing a fun board game with my family, or dancing for fun ….

Nurturing Your Glimmers

Now that you are noticing and noting down your glimmers, next you need to nurture them and watch them grow from that seed of a micro-moment to more.

• Reflect on those journal entries regularly (from above list) to become more aware of what makes you feel better.
• Engage regularly in activities that you enjoy and that bring you peace.
• Spend time with the people who make you feel good. And surround yourself with things that make you happy, such as photos, plants, or art.
• When you notice a glimmer, take a moment to fully appreciate it and allow yourself to feel the positive emotions associated with the experience. Express gratitude for these positive moments in your life.
• Share your glimmers with others. This can enhance your own joy and spread positivity to those around you.

By consistently recognizing and nurturing these small moments of joy, you can enhance your overall sense of well-being and create a more positive outlook on life.

Now go glimmer!!

Poetic Sundays: Celebrating with Glimmers of the Golden Shovel

Talking about glimmers reminded me of one of my favorite newer poetic forms, the golden shovel, which I have featured/mentioned many times before on my blog – here, here, here, and here. So I decided to use it today with a line from a poem using the word ‘glimmers’ within.

The form: The Golden Shovel

About this form: You can find more about the form and how to write it here. In short,  this form is a homage to poets. Use the words from a line of a poem you love(d) as the end words of the lines of your poem (and don’t forget to give credit to the original poem/t).

The poem: The Lake Isle Of Innisfree by W. B. Yeats

The line: There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow, (and I am using only the first part of it for my golden shovel)

Glimmers of Tomorrow
Last evening, we strolled in that dream – over there –
where laughter lingers with tears. We walked in midnight’s
embrace. On the sidewalk of memories, we found all
we thought we had lost before. Today, that stroll seems but a
sliver of thought, until it appears some morrow as a glimmer.
~ Vidya @ LadyInReadWrites

Recently

On My Blog and Home Front

It has been a while since i posted consistently, and definitely a long time since I did a sunday post. So here are the posts since my last Sunday Scribblings, well, looks like just the one scribbling post!

• Sunday Scribblings #191: The Best Poems for Dad Everyday

On the home front, so much has happened which is why I ended up being away from here. Graduations and dance shows and family and friends visiting, mini-trips, and so much more.

Upcoming

On My Blog and Home Front

The Ultimate Blog Challenge is back again and I hope to post (almost) everyday… On the home front, it is going to be a hot week in our area this week (temperatures over a 100 F!). So we are going to try to stay cool while enjoying the 4th of July celebrations nearby. Also….

This Week’s Celebrations

The Literary and Close-to-it Celebrations

• Literary Birthdays this week: William Strunk, Lisa Scottoline on July 1st; Hermann Hesse, Jack Gantos, and Matthew Reilly (and me too!) on the 2nd of July; July 3rd celebrates the birthdays of Dave Barry, Franz Kafka, Rohinton Mistry, and Matt Haig; Nathaniel Hawthorne’s is on the 4th; July 5th celebrates Bill Watterson; Hilary Mantel and Bessie Head on the 6th of July; Jeff VanderMeer, Kathy Reichs, V. E. Schwab on July 7th
• Alice in Wonderland Day is on the 4th of July
• And then the 5th is Mechanical Pencil Day

Foodie Celebrations

• July starts off with National Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day which can be paired with National Gingersnap Day on the 1st
• The 2nd of July ends this week with National Anisette Day
• The 3rd is National Chocolate Wafer Day and National Eat Your Beans Day
• While the July 4th observes Sidewalk Egg Frying Day 🙂 as well as Jackfruit Day
• It is National Apple Turnover Day and National Graham Crackers Day on July 5th
• And the 7th brings with it yummy National Strawberry Sundae Day! As well as National Macaroni Day. In addition, it is also World Chocolate Day.. add some to that sundae…

Other Celebrations

• Start off July with laughter and music for the 1st of July is International Joke Day and International Reggae Day 
• July 2nd is special to me… And then it is also World UFO Day, National Disco Day, I Forgot Day, and Freedom From Fear of Speaking Day. It is also (along with the 1st some years, the middle of the year).
• It is National Compliment Your Mirror Day on the 3rd of July (I love how this is worded). It is also StartTheConversation Day. July 3rd is also National Stay Out of the Sun Day, and might make sense given the heat wave coming up this week with Wednesday looking to be one of the hottest days so far.
• The 4th of July is of course Independence Day here in the US.
• Enjoy a fun Spongebob inspired holiday on the 5th with Work Without Your Hands Day! Apparently, Spongebob and gang celebrate quirky holidays as well on the series.
• Another unusual holiday is up next on July 6th with International Kissing Day!
• Loving the holidays on the 7th which include National Dora Day, National Father Daughter Take a Walk Day, International Peace & Love Day, as well as National Day of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, this was it for this post. As always, appreciate and totally welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions on these scribblings on Sunday! And which of these days in this wonderful week do you plan to celebrate?

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon. And 👍🏻, also to the Ultimate Blogging Challenge throughout this month.