gather glimmers

the small moments that signal safety - tiny cues of joy, calm, or ease.

We all know triggers - those sudden jolts that throw us off balance, flood our senses, and push us into fight, flight, or freeze. Most of us can name exactly what sets us off.

Recently, I learned about an opposite force - glimmers.

Coined by therapist Deb Dana, glimmers are small moments that signal safety - tiny cues of joy, calm, or ease.

If triggers launch us into survival, glimmers return us to connection. They’re not mere distractions—they’re the nervous system's resistance to a world wired for urgency, fear, and overload.

What do your glimmers look like?

For me, it’s a friend sending me a song that lifts my spirits. Raindrops clinging to our ginkgo tree’s leaves. The scent of freshly ground beans at a morning meeting. The way our dog leans in when I scratch behind her ears.

Glimmers remind us we are built for resilience. We may dismiss them as too small to matter - but they anchor us, expand our capacity, and restore our presence.

Glimmers are not a pause from the work.
They are part of it.

Stop. Appreciate. Remember. Share. Glimmer.