In this day in age all we hear left and right the word, “triggers.” Triggers are a stimulus that can cause someone to react in a particular way. These triggers could be memories or physical things that someone is exposed to that can make them relive a traumatic event in their lives. What we need to be exposed to instead are, glimmers.
Glimmers are quite literally the exact opposite of triggers. Many times we try to stay alert to the negatives in life so as to not get caught up in what we were exposed to previously, but I don’t think we do well with it. Start seeking the glimmers instead. The reason I believe we need to seek these out instead of focusing on the triggers is to try to help heal by boosting positive stuff.
“Glimmers are those moments in your day that make you feel joy, happiness, peace, or gratitude. Once you train your brain to be on the lookout for glimmers, these tiny moments will appear more and more.” -unknown
For whatever reason we are naturally hardwired and have a tendency to look for the bad stuff. You know what I mean. An example would be when you roll past a horrible car accident you seem to stare and subconsciously you are looking to see a dead body. That is so extreme, but I hope you understand the point. I believe it is because of our original fight-or-flight adrenals to protect ourselves.
We are always so aware of the things that will set us off at any moment. The anticipation for someone to cut in front of us in a long line. Why? Stop doing that! Yes, it is difficult to do but with time you will stop paying attention to the negative triggers. Discover your goodness glimmers and go with that.
Here is a list of ways to discover glimmers in your world and some of the benefits of them. Try to start working on healing your triggers. I promise you will feel much better in the days, months, and years to come. It just feels good to smile! Glimmers can spark some pretty good memories.
Glimmer discovery checklist:
- Hug a pup! I mean for real. Our dogs are great at giving us love back and it just warms our souls. If you don’t have a dog don’t just hug one out of the blue in the wild, ask the owner if it is ok. Usually, dog people know the benefits of having a furry pet and most don’t mind.
- Take a stroll. Get yourself some bear spray in case of an emergency and head over to your National State Park. Hey, it’s better to have the spray and not need it than to not have it and get bulldozed by a rogue Smokey the Bear. LOL The nature all around will help you smile.
- Be around happy people. Give out as many smiles as you can but please for the love of God don’t make it creepy. Being a creepy person grinning left and right could bring you the law. Sometimes people don’t really understand happy people. They get confused thinking that they are on drugs.
- Lots of benefits. You can start the healing process from your traumas that had triggers. Those around you will be better off as well. We don’t want to discount the trauma but we want to move towards the healing and progressing side.
(this post was inspired by my wonderful and amazing girl)
Conclusion
Glimmers are a bucket of goodness so try to use as many as you can to help heal. Try to reduce your triggers little by little. I believe it can be done, but it just takes time. Please seek out a good therapist if you are having trouble with past trauma.
Question
What other good glimmers would you add to the list above?
