If a month itself could be a “trigger,” it would be January, 2024. Honestly, we could throw  December (or at least, some aspects of it) in for good measure. We’ve been justifiably triggered by an ice storm, a collapsed sewer line, porta-potties, and wrangles with insurance companies. Yet, through it all, we Eastrosarians have endured and found some silver linings, or “glimmers.” We made it!

Triggers are widely understood, but fewer people know about the opposite: glimmers. Glimmers are small moments that spark joy or peace, which can help cue our nervous system to feel safe or calm. The therapist who coined the phrase, Deb Dana, explains that “we’re not talking about great, big, expansive experiences of joy or safety or connection. Glimmers are micro moments that begin to shape our system in gentle ways.”

And the concept has gone viral on social media. A TikTok challenge asking folks to share a “glimmer,” raked up 78,000 posts. Some examples: admiring a garden, walking in the forest, laying under the stars; noticing a stranger’s smile; cuddling with a furbaby; your favorite song playing on the radio; dancing or singing; the sound of church bells.

“You feel something happen inside,” Dana explains. “There’s an energy that happens around a glimmer.” They don’t eliminate triggers we might experience, but they can balance them in our brains and our lives. The negative emotions I talked about in my sermon on January 28 are important to honor. Glimmers aren’t meant to be a form of toxic positivity.

Some folks are keeping “glimmer” journals…three things a day that spark joy and/or create calm. Or, you could set a “glimmer intention,” such as: “I’m going to look for one glimmer before lunch.” Apparently, once you start to recognize glimmers, you begin to look for more of them. What are your glimmers? You can get your glimmer on in February at Eastrose in many ways – participating in Mystery Pals, celebrating at Winterfest, attending Sunday morning services, singing in our newly formed choir, joining teams that keep Eastrose’s gleam glimmering. Details for all of these possibilities can be found in Petals. Shine on!