It is now February. I am glad to see the blossom, daffodils, snowdrops, and crocuses (my personal favourite) as we approach spring. I’ve been finding it a lot easier to motivate myself to go on walks in nature now that there’s more greenery and colours coming through. The picture above was taken on one of my walks.

I have been thinking about the idea of glimmers. Glimmers are the opposite of triggers. We hear a lot of people discussing their triggers, but it is very useful to notice your glimmers. I first heard about glimmers when I was training to become a therapist, one of my lecturers brought them up. Glimmers are moments of joy, specific things that bring you happiness, safety, excitement, or inspiration. It may only last for a few seconds. I suppose they are similar to gratitude, or they are a form of gratitude. I would say that seeing the tulips I planted in autumn successfully come through these last few weeks has been a glimmer for me. Before this I had never planted bulbs. Whilst preparing the soil, getting my hands dirty, I had doubts about whether they would grow. “Are they too close together? Is it bad that I’ve got a variety of bulbs, instead of just one type? I don’t know what I’m doing!”

I had to wait all winter. I worried that they wouldn’t be able to withstand the cold, but I had to be patient. And now they are about 4cm tall and it’s looking likely that I will see some brightly coloured flowers in the spring. What a relief! And I’m excited.

Nature teaches us so much. It doesn’t rush.

I feel like I have been mentioning nature and exercise a lot on my Instagram recently, to the point where I may be annoying people… But research shows us that engaging with nature, be it sunlight, bird song, or being near trees, helps our mental health. I also suggest exercise to my clients and loved ones, it isn’t just great for our physical health. After all, our body and mind are one. I think exercise can be particularly helpful with anxiety; when we have a lot of energy pent up inside us, going out for a walk, run, cycle, dance, whatever your favourite form of exercise is, can really help. Even better is combining nature and exercise.

If you’d like to learn more about glimmers then research Steven Porges, the man who coined the term when explaining our autonomic nervous system.

Think about some of your glimmers today. What are you grateful for? By acknowledging these things we can encourage more of these positive moments. And maybe going on a short walk would help you experience a glimmer.

To learn more about mental health and to book a free introductory call with me, a registered therapist, click here.