Children and Glimmers

Our recent post what’s a glimmer? got one of our coaches Lucia thinking about children and glimmers so we wanted to share some wise words from her…

Glimmers are so important, they are the joy in life, that feeling that can’t be put into words. Glimmers are all around us, all of the time but we don’t tend to see them. Children do though.

Glimmers burst into our lives when we pay attention, but they escape from us when we’re wrapped up in our worry thoughts.

Children are very good at spotting Glimmers as they are naturally happy, and joyful, and if there are sad times they can bounce back.  They have this natural joie de vivre, awe and wonder. It seems to be their default setting.

When I was a child, I would notice Glimmers everywhere.

I remember age 7 walking to school and passing under a canopy of trees seeing the sunlight glisten on the leaves and feeling joyful.  I remember going to the park on my new scooter and feeling very excited as I scooted up the hill to the swings. Even though my home life was difficult, I trusted the world and the beautiful nature, I felt safe, calm and happy outside.

I think back to that time and would love to have those Glimmers again.

There was a time in my adult life when I didn’t see any Glimmers, everything was dark and grey and I forgot what it was like to be a child.

The Glimmer Muscle

But then I realized, YES I CAN! it’s a skill to learn, I can practise it, develop it,  I can grow my Glimmer muscle and the more I use it, the stronger the Glimmer muscle will become and the more joyful I will be; this is neuroplasticity.

So start to do just that, to practise paying attention and notice that everything is a gift, the present moment.

Keep practising, and your glimmer muscle will get stronger.

It’s easier to start with nature. Look at the sky and clouds and tell yourself how beautiful it all is, then feel the feeling, breathe it in, then become emotional about it, shed a tear of joy, (yes you can cry about a cloud!).  

The more you practise the easier it will be to feel the emotions and the joyful emotions will be anchored to whatever you’re looking at.

Feeling the joyful emotions releases happy chemicals which are so good for your health.

So start today, look at the world through a child’s eyes, see what they see, and grow the joy, then write down those Glimmers and put them in a Glimmer jar to remind you of all the good in your life.

And as Miranda says in her previous post ‘Look out for Glimmers, breathe them in and hold onto them tight’.