I saw a post by psychotherapist Helen Marie on Instagram this week that I loved. It’s titled “a little guide to glimmers.”
Helen Marie writes,
Glimmers are the opposite of triggers.
She goes on to explain them this way:
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they are tiny moments of awe.
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they spark joy & evoke inner calm.
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they send cues of safety to our nervous system…
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our body responds with positive energy.
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they allow us to feel hope when lost…
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once we start embracing them it can become a beautiful way to see the world around you.
According to Helen Marie, glimmers were first coined by Deb Dana. This was the first I’d read about them, and the introduction came at a good time.
I had a difficult week. But in that week, there were glimmers:
- Making it to an impromptu early evening yoga class and running into a friend whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.
- Watching a splendid pink and violet sunset over the NYC skyline as I took the subway from Brooklyn back to Manhattan.
- A week of lovely, warm spring weather.
- Finding some sweet, old photos of me and my mom that I had forgotten about and texting them to her on Mother’s Day.
- The creamy brown rice with shiitakes and peas from Power Plates, which I made today.
- “Let there be new flowering” by Lucille Clifton.
None of these things felt entirely curative, but they were all small moments of awe, as Helen Marie describes them to be. And they did spark joy and evoke inner calm.
I hope that in the week ahead, you’ll encounter your glimmers, too.
Happy Sunday, friends. Here are some recipes and reads.
Recipes
Carine and Damien’s strawberry pancakes are a perfect, celebratory breakfast for spring.
Lindsay’s roasted radish pasta with olives looks so zippy and flavorful.
I’ve been wondering what to do with a bag of red potatoes. I think Kathy’s smashed miso red potatoes are my answer.
More things to do with radishes, and all of your other spring produce: Jodi’s lovely spring millet salad.
I made roasted carrots with lemon and dill this weekend and wondered why I don’t prepare them that way all the time? Anyway, I sort of improvised my recipe, but Maria’s roasted carrot recipe very similar, and it looks great.
Reads
1. The seemingly counterintuitive importance of allowing children to be unhappy.
2. A beautiful, long-form piece on saving the monarch butterfly migration.
3. I got rid of approximately 50% of my stuff when I moved apartments last summer, and it was great. I smiled as I read Patricia Marx’s guide to decluttering.
4. There are more tickborne illnesses than Lyme Disease, and one of them—Alpha Gal Syndrome—is on the rise in the Northeast. This article shares some signs and symptoms to be aware of.
5. NPR‘s crowdsourced advice roundups have been giving me life lately. This week, nine Life Kit readers share the best pieces of advice they got from their moms.
My favorite?
“It all comes out in the wash.”
Indeed.
Speaking of moms, I wish a happy Mother’s Day to anyone who’s celebrating, honoring, or remembering today.
I’m about to bring my mom some meal prepped food and a great big hug. I’ll check in later this week.
xo
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What a nice way of describing moments of gratitude. I’ve payed attention more and more over the years to these glimmers. To me they are so important, keep me grateful and hopeful when times are hard.
Wishing you well this week Gena xoxo