Simple Pleasures: How Small Glimmers Can Be a Big Deal

Do you remember how simple pleasures made you feel relaxed and at ease? 

Did you know these ordinary interactions that feel extraordinary — coined by trauma expert Deb Dana — are called glimmers? Noticing these magical micro-moments of joy can actually boost your wellbeing.

In this episode, you’ll hear an original poem, Glimmer, written by Lia Girard, as an invitation to reignite your sense of wonder and appreciation.

Today’s episode invites you to: 

- recall a small moment of pleasure that still brings you joy

- take note of the sensory experiences that refresh you

- promise yourself a glimmer moment in the coming week

You’ll also be given a word, inspired by the poem, to ponder as your week unfolds. 

Lia Girard is a poet, writer, author, wife, and mom whose feature articles are found on iBelieve.com, Crosswalk.com, and other inspirational platforms. 

You can explore her poetry, often inspired by the wonders of nature, on Instagram: @wildpeace.poetry. 

If you love the show, or any episode resonates with you, please rate or review the show on your favorite platform, or email your feedback to lia@wildpeacepoetry.com.

Transcript

Speaker 0:01

Hello and welcome to Heart of a Wildflower. This is a space that invites you to slow down, reconnect, and find beauty in every season. I'm Lia Girard, your host, and I'm so glad you're here. In each episode, we'll consider an aspect of love, longing, or life, such as heartache, healing, or hope, by reading and exploring a poem together. We'll end with a thoughtful word or phrase to contemplate as your week unfolds. Today's poem journeys inward to recall and recapture that sometimes evasive feeling of light-hearted contentment. I wrote it to reignite a sense of wonder in my own life and reorganize my values. It's made of memories from my youth, but its larger purpose is to awaken your wild heart. Now, because I share on Instagram, my poems are often rather bite-sized, but my hope is that they'll make a big difference in your outlook or your day, or even just the present moment. Also, as a former advertising copywriter, I intrinsically strive to connect with an economy of words. And this reminds me of a small portion of a poem by one of my favorite poets, the extraordinary Mary Oliver. Tucked in her tender poem entitled Sometimes are these plain but powerful four lines. Instructions for living a life. Pay attention, be astonished, tell about it. And with this morsel of poetry, Mary gives all of creation a purpose and a voice that continues singing beyond her life here. It's so invigorating and important to allow yourself to be astonished by the scent of a flower, or by the taste of honey, or by the feel of a creek water rippling over your toes, or anything seemingly insignificant that just utterly delights your senses. These small passing moments, studied and coined in 2018 by trauma expert Deb Dana in her book Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, are now popularly known as glimmers. They don't last forever, but when you learn to seek, live, and appreciate them, they can have a profound effect on your well-being. And this is the inspiration for today's poem. Glimmer. When did I forget to grip the soil with my soles? Thread soft violets through my toes, blow on grass between my thumbs, and drip wild honeysuckle on my tongue. Can you remember or visualize doing any of these? How do you feel? And maybe you didn't pluck a piece of grass and press it between the sides of your thumbs and blow this fervent squawk. Or maybe you shied away from unruly vines of things, but perhaps you share this desire with me to see and hear, smell, touch, or taste the simple gifts of the great outdoors. Here's the best part about intentionally interacting with your glimmers. You only need to choose to do it. It might begin for you, like it did for me, by asking, when did I forget? And how can I honor the fact that these moments can actually ground and rebuild me? Deb Dana's guidance includes keeping a personalized glimmer list without forcing positivity on yourself. And this is how you can identify what makes you feel at ease and vibrant. Serendipitously, Dana simplified her approach to these five steps that pretty closely mirror Mary Oliver's instructions. One, connect to the sensation, two, stop and acknowledge. Three, appreciate and allow the feeling. Four, remember and reflect. Five, share it to reinforce the joy. For months now I've been meaning to take my sneakers off on my morning walks around the lake. I want to just stand there, soles to soil, and soak up the magic of how just a simple moment can make life pretty sweet. What have you been longing to feel again? And do you remember what activates this pleasure? Could it be as simple as adding cinnamon to your coffee or snuggling with your pet or feeling the scrape of sandpaper on wood or the crisp autumn wind on the golf course? Maybe you like the feel of a paintbrush on canvas or digging your hands in the dirt or your toes in the sand. These moments of all-in astonishment that wash over us may seem small to someone else, but I hope you know what I also believe. Whatever small moment that makes you feel good, it's a very big deal when it comes to appreciating the gift of being alive. As we close, I'd like to leave you with a word from the poem to ponder, and that word is wild. What about the free and natural world do you find amazing? Sunrise, sunset, starlight, rain, trees, whatever it is, maybe this week you can let yourself look for and notice and savor it. Maybe even write it down along with your feelings in your glimmer journal or your phone notes. I'm making myself a promise today. This week I will make sure my bare feet connect with the earth and I notice how it makes me feel. What gift of glimmering can you plan for yourself? Thank you for spending this time with me today. I hope it offered you room to reflect and reconnect with yourself. If this episode spoke to you, please share it with a friend or drop me an email at lia@wildpeacepoetry.com. That's L I A at Wildpeacepoetry.com. You can also find my poetry and message me on Instagram: @wildpeace.poetry. Until next time, keep blooming in your own wild and wonderful way.