The morning sunlight softly streaming through the pine trees, bouncing off the creek streaming below.

The scent of the earth and forest soil after a deep soaking rain.

Spying a hummingbird swerving about in the garden from bloom to bloom.

Sprinkled throughout our everydays, these moments, delightfully nicknamed glimmers, cue calm in our nervous system, directly awakening the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) which is also known as “the rest-and-digest response, whose job it is to return the body to a peaceful resting state, a process known as homeostasis”. In episode #381 we talked about how knowing how the nervous system works, as taught in Mind Magic by James R. Doty, MD, we then gain back control over where our attention goes so that our intentions have the most promising chance to materialize.

Behaving contrary to how a trigger affects our nervous system – feeding the sympathetic nervous system which is our fight-or-flight tool to keep us alive, a glimmer nourishes and strengthens our mental health. And it all begins by being present and taking notice of all the awesome little details of our everyday life. Often details we do not have direct, or even indirect control over. However, by observing these glimmers, our appreciation deepens and our stress begins to evaporate.

Here is a list of examples of glimmers that might, upon reflection, be frequently present in your life, and all we need to do now is take note, and savor them.

• happening upon a new-to-you-book that is exactly what you are looking for

• to catch sight of a bee dancing upon the face of a sunflower, completely absorbed with collecting pollen and nectar

• a welcoming, thoughtfully chosen scent that ever so subtly fills the home of a friend’s sanctuary that makes you feel relaxed and take a sigh of appreciation

• the first drops of rain felt on the skin

• a buttery, yet firm, just the right-amount-of-sweet biscuit to pair with a hot cuppa

• the expression of a happy pup or cat following a gleeful romp or reunion with a fellow four-legged companion

• finding, stumbling upon without expectation of discovering, something you had been trying to find, but let go of searching for

• a hot, cleansing shower after a long, grueling workout

• when sleep comes calling after a long, yet exhilarating day, and you succumb happily to its invitation

• being outside at night to witness the beauty of the moon illuminating a clear sky

• the first glint of morning sunshine through the bedroom window

• birds that feel safe enough to nibble at the bird café nearby as you sit out in the garden

• sharing a genuine smile and kind exchange with a stranger while out and about doing something you love, and they happen to be partaking in the same activity

• the soothing sound of the waves of the ocean cresting and ebbing along the shoreline

• nestling your nose next to a flower and discovering an amazing scent

• clothing that fits to a ‘T’

• an idea that arrives seemingly randomly, and sings in sync with your journey

Glimmers, while not a new concept, and quite a popular term on many social platforms at the moment, and for that I am grateful, when we take the time to notice them, we are exercising a skill we have learned and now see the gifts of its practice in our life – mindfulness. We can only see glimmers if we are fully conscious in this moment, so each time we witness a glimmer, we are experiencing living a life of true contentment lived in real time.

Each generation, for that matter each culture, will have their chosen phrase about any concept that is discovered to benefit the quality of our life – simple pleasures, glimmers, moments to savor, petits plaisirs, when we find them, as the Newport Institute shares, they may be short and ephermal by definition, but glimmers prompt the best type of reaction to welcome into our life – “a rush of happiness, gratitude, calm, peace, safety, or goodwill.”

The term itself was originally coined by Deb Dana, a polyvagal researcher, someone who studies the nervous system which involves the vagus nerve. She shared something about glimmers that I want to share with you today as we step into a new week, having a new month just begun and perhaps you are realizing you are ready to ‘size-up’ as they say or step into a new chapter of your life in other words. Glimmers, noticing them, savoring them, are a very good sign that yep, indeed, something wonderful is about to materialize. Dana shared, “It’s almost as if this micro-moment—this glimmer—is the beginning of what can become a really big change.”

May your days be assessorized by oodles of glimmers, and in your noticing them, may you realize the magic that wants to reveal itself in your life.

Happy Monday. Have a magnificent start to the week.

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~Learn more about TSLL’s Contentment Masterclass here.