Embark on a journey with me, Sally Burlington, to unearth the hidden joy in everyday moments as we delve into the transformative power of 'glimmers'. Picture this: the serene dance of sunlight on water, the fleeting smile from a stranger, each a tiny, potent spark of joy waiting to be discovered and cherished. Our latest episode invites you to embrace these instances, to not only enhance your own well-being but to become a beacon of positivity, igniting happiness in those around you. Through simple acts like a heartfelt message or the sharing of an awe-inspiring scene, we'll learn how to amplify the light we cast in the world.
We immerse ourselves in the spirit of spring, guiding you through a visualization exercise that is as rejuvenating as the first bloom of daffodils. Feel the rush of serenity and joy as we breathe in possibility and exhale gratitude, symbolizing life's cycle from a seed to a resplendent flower. Join me in this exploration of mindfulness. Together, let's cultivate a garden of glimmers, creating a legacy of light and happiness that touches every soul we encounter.
Embark on a journey with me, Sally Burlington, to unearth the hidden joy in everyday moments as we delve into the transformative power of 'glimmers'. Picture this: the serene dance of sunlight on water, the fleeting smile from a stranger, each a tiny, potent spark of joy waiting to be discovered and cherished. Our latest episode invites you to embrace these instances, to not only enhance your own well-being but to become a beacon of positivity, igniting happiness in those around you. Through simple acts like a heartfelt message or the sharing of an awe-inspiring scene, we'll learn how to amplify the light we cast in the world.
We immerse ourselves in the spirit of spring, guiding you through a visualization exercise that is as rejuvenating as the first bloom of daffodils. Feel the rush of serenity and joy as we breathe in possibility and exhale gratitude, symbolizing life's cycle from a seed to a resplendent flower. Join me in this exploration of mindfulness. Together, let's cultivate a garden of glimmers, creating a legacy of light and happiness that touches every soul we encounter.
To learn more, go to mycreateharmony.com
Speaker 1:
Welcome back to the Create Harmony podcast. Let's get started by talking about what you can expect here. This is a podcast about setting an intentional rhythm. It's about savoring life's blessings and learning how to use our imagination as a way of listening to God. If you want to learn more about how to bring stillness and gratitude into your life, you'll probably find a lot here that you love. And if you like to be creative and fun, there is a place for you here as well. In this place, we'll take a few minutes to celebrate everyday joys and remind ourselves how to notice goodness all around us. Our topics include ways to refresh your life, to raise your well-being and refocus you on peace and joy. So I am your host, sally Burlington, and this is episode 70.
Speaker 1:
Now we have spent a number of weeks over the past few weeks dwelling on the concept of rest. We discussed in detail the seven different types of rest, and each episode contained a series of rest reflections to get us going. I promise we're not going to talk about rest anymore, but prior to our focus on rest, we discussed winter well-being because we were in the winter season and all sorts of ways to raise your spirit during our dark winter months. So at this point, since we have dwelled on this topic so much about how to care for yourself well, spent quite a lot of time on how to do that and treat ourselves kindly and gently, and if you've been following along, I'm sure that you have been taking it all to heart and right now you should feel rested and restored in deep and substantial ways, and that posture sets you up to experience joy. You've opened yourself to immense joy. So at this point it's time for us to shift our energy just a bit. It's time for us to share our joy and our light with others. So in order to open that discussion, we need to talk about glimmers. So the term glimmer was coined by Deb Dana, and she's a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in complex trauma. But here's the concept Glimmers are just little micro moments of joy.
Speaker 1:
They're fleeting, they're everyday moments. They elicit a rush of happiness, gratitude, calm, peace, safety, goodwill all these great things and these experiences are small. They can easily go overlooked if you're not paying attention. This is our wheelhouse Everyday joys. That's what we talk about here. A glimmer is the opposite of a trigger. So a trigger solicits fear and unease, but a glimmer brings those small moments of happiness into your day, and it's especially fun to talk about glimmers in the early spring.
Speaker 1:
It's a perfect time to capitalize on seeing glimmers, because nature is blooming and blossoming and the sun is coming out. The days are getting longer, so you can see the blooms of a daffodil for their bright yellow color. You might see a rainbow in the sky after an afternoon rain shower. You can savor the smell of your coffee first thing in the morning. Maybe a glimmer for you is a hug of a family member, a call from a friend. All these things are glimmers in our everyday lives, and they're moments that are only made special if we take time and energy to cherish them. We can enjoy them for free on any day. You can find glimmers all day long. You do not need special skills to connect with a glimmer. You do not need to make a complex plan. Nothing needs to be added to your schedule. Only a small shift in your attention can move you closer to pleasure and peace.
Speaker 1:
So I started talking about how we would give to others, and now I'm talking about glimmers, and you're probably wondering how are these things related? Well, what if we took our raised well-being and our well-rested selves and worked on elevating glimmers in the lives of those around us. How can we spread more love? How can we be a light in someone else's day? How can we make others smile? Now, the first step to spreading that goodness is noticing it and then passing that awareness on to someone else. Maybe I'm creating a glimmer for you today as you think about the small moments of joy that I mentioned, and going one step beyond. That is planning glimmers for others. Maybe I buy some fresh flowers and place them in my house for my family to enjoy. Maybe I'm bringing a special snack in for my coworkers. Maybe it's showing up to help out at the next big event at your church or your community center.
Speaker 1:
How can we make ourselves feel good? By making others feel good? Now, take a little moment to ponder that. Take some time to think about where you could notice some glimmers and share them with others. But don't overcomplicate this. Don't make a 10-step plan that requires you to go way out of your way, takes lots of time and lots of energy. Keep it really simple sending a quick text to a friend to say that you're thinking about them, posting the picture of a sunset that you took on social media for others to enjoy, or just saying a kind word to a neighbor while you're walking, your dog Glimmers are out there, everywhere for you. This world is filled with beauty, it's filled with joy, and you can access it. Then let it touch you and let it touch others.
Speaker 1:
Now, for today's closing, we will have what I call a spring inspired visualization. So I'm going to walk through a visualization and you are going to just listen, and hopefully this will give you a glimmer to get started. So we'll begin by shifting our mind into a more mindfulness posture and settle yourself wherever you are, settle yourself into the most comfortable position you can find, and start out by shaking out any tension you feel yourself holding. Sometimes just thinking about the release of tension can help you. Let it go, even tension that you didn't even know was there. So let that go right now and take a deep breath, breathe in possibilities and breathe out gratitude. If it makes sense for you to close your eyes, you can do that now.
Speaker 1:
Now begin by picturing yourself being a seed just under the soil. You've been planted in the spring, ready to grow. You start out in the dark, below the surface. The soil gets warmer, you get fresh water. It's time to germinate. You begin to open yourself up and sprout. You break through the outer covering of your seed, you push on the soil above you and reach towards the sky. It takes a lot of energy to get to the surface, but you work your way up. Slow and steady. You make progress.
Speaker 1:
Once you get to the top of the soil, you begin to feel the warmth of the sunshine. It warms your small leaves, leaves, and you grow some more. After a while the sun gets pretty warm. But you persevere and you grow some more. Your stalk is getting strong. Now you are taller and now it begins to rain right down on your leaves. At first a gentle shower of raindrops. It feels soothing and cool. You feel refreshed. The water soaks into the ground and nourishes your roots. Soon the rain becomes more steady and begins falling harder. The droplets get bigger and come faster. They are hitting your leaves with some force. You have to brace yourself to withstand the downpour. More rain keeps coming, but you hold steady. You meet the challenge. Soon the droplets get smaller again and the clouds begin to part. The sun comes out and you feel relieved. You made it through and continue to grow.
Speaker 1:
Next you begin to grow a bloom. It starts as a tiny bud. Then the bud grows and opens into a lovely bloom. What an accomplishment. You started out as a tiny seed. You grew, you changed. Your bloom is glorious.
Speaker 1:
Now, with all of the good energy of your bloom, begin to bring your awareness back to where we started back into your body. You can take one final deep breath, breathe in possibilities and breathe out gratitude. And if you closed your eyes at the beginning, you can open them now. And you're back to the podcast. Thanks for joining us today, as we learned all about glimmers, and I am wishing you all good luck as you begin to open your eyes to the world around you and see those glimmers everywhere. Don't forget how it felt. Bring the energy of that tiny seed growing into a lovely plant. You can find those glimmers and you can share them with others. What I want for you is to live peaceful and joyful lives, and may it be so. We'll be back next week with some more thoughts on seeing goodness all around us and hope you'll join us then too. And until next time, peace, thank you.