from disappointment to glimmers of life

If you’ve been on one of Circle and Spoke’s gatherings or retreats lately, you’ve heard me talk about glimmers. 

These are things that make you feel warm & fuzzy and are really important for you to activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which supports your sense of feeling safe and relaxed.

There are a lot of things that are glimmers in my life:

• Petting a cuddly dog

• Pausing to enjoy the beauty of the blooming flowers

• Reading a book to my nibbling

One of my other favorite glimmers is going on a little adventure. 

Read on to hear of a recent glimmer filled adventure

On Saturday, I wasn’t able to hit up my neighborhood farmers market. I was actually quite disappointed. I really wanted to get seasonal fruits and make coleslaw with local cabbage. Sure, I could go to the grocery store, but it just wouldn’t be the same.

I started to noodle on options.

I knew the big farmers market in Dupont Circle could be an option, but I wasn’t feeling thrilled about biking and locking my nicer bike in Dupont. So I did a brief internet search and discovered the quieter neighborhood of Palisades in NW DC has a Sunday morning farmers market. I had never been.

Yesterday, I hopped on my bike, smiling with surprise that it was still cool out, got my heart beating, heading up a big hill and then down another and turned left onto McArthur Blvd, as I let my pedals spin. 

The melons and tomatoes and berries abounded at the market. I loaded up my panniers with nectarines, peaches, some heirloom cherry tomatoes, corn and more. I breathed in the pretty flowers and smiled when a child, so occupied with her popsicle, she almost walked into me. 

These were all glimmers: the appreciation of the season’s bounty, going on a little adventure, enjoying the surprisingly cooler temps in Washington, DC, smiling and saying pleasantries to those at the market.   

My disappointment turned into an opportunity, an invitation to get out of my routine and explore the bounty just a stone’s throw outside of my daily life. 

How might you reach your hand towards some of your recent disappointments and shift gears into something that’s a glimmer, something that makes you feel warm + fuzzy?

Wheels up, 

Ellen