DISCOVERING THE GLIMMERS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Joy doesn’t always announce itself with fireworks. Sometimes, it arrives quietly, in the clink of a spoon against your favourite mug, a kind message when you least expect it, or the smell of fresh bread that reminds you of home. These are glimmers: tiny, magical moments that nudge your nervous system and whisper, “You’re safe. You’re okay. Breathe.”

A glimmer is the opposite of a trigger. Where triggers launch us into fight-or-flight, glimmers bring us gently home to ourselves. They’re the sunkissed highlights in the mundane…warm socks, birdsong, a rainbow, a single guitar chord that makes you pause mid-washing-up.

And it’s not just lovely fluff, it’s science. These micro-moments activate the vagus nerve (a kind of inner calm conductor), helping your body shift from stressed to soothed. It’s like your soul gets a small thumbs up and says, “More of that, please.”

So how do you find them? You notice. You look up. You slow down just enough to spot the sparkle hiding in the cracks of everyday life. Keep a Glimmer List, a gentle reminder of the little things that lift you. Fresh bedsheets. Laughing until your cheeks ache. A dog, a cat, the ice-cream van jingle on a Tuesday.

You don’t have to catch them all, this isn’t Pokémon. One or two will do just fine. And here’s the lovely part: the more you notice glimmers, the more your brain learns to look for them.

This World Mental Health Day, let joy find you in the small stuff. Because sometimes, it’s the tiniest spark that lights the way forward.

And when you catch them, they catch you.

Confidently Lost: Finding Joy in the Chaos and Rediscovering What Matters Most in Life by Gavin Oattes is published by Capstone, out on 23^rd October, priced £12.99