A little moment of light-heartedness is sometimes all it takes to change your whole day - and the more of those joyful moments you can string together, the better you’ll feel.

It’s been an intense week here. One of those ones where several super-important things all conspire to happen simultaneously, leaving you no choice but to be vigilant about what’s truly a priority and what can play second fiddle for a while.

In times like those, I find it easy to become so laser-focused on my responsibilities and other serious stuff that I can almost physically feel the weight on my shoulders.

If you’ve been weighed down by heaviness and responsibility too, or have been feeling pessimistic or a bit grumpy, here’s a gentle reminder to give yourself permission to step away from it all now and then and look for glimmers of optimism and joy.

'What’s a glimmer?', I hear you ask? Think of it as the exact opposite of something that triggers negative emotions in you… in other words, a micro-moment of joy, gratitude or sensory pleasure that gives your nervous system a re-set and restores you to a calm, positive state of mind.

Glimmers sometimes sneak up on us unexpectedly. For example, this morning I was pleasantly surprised by how uplifting it was to feel the sun on my back as I read my emails over a coffee at my local cafe instead of in my chilly office.

Flower essences to promote happiness and joy

Even better is to consciously seek glimmers out, either by making it a habit to pause now and then and look for them, or by setting up your day-to-day activities to ensure they occur on a regular basis. (Now that I know where to sit to enjoy the winter sunshine, you can be confident I’ll be spending more mornings at that cafe over the next few months! ☀️☕)

Awareness that we can consciously choose to experience moments of joy, optimism and positivity is something I’ve learned from the Conesticks flowers, which are the secret ingredient in our Lighten Up, Buttercup Flower Essence and Flower Essence Mist. This essence is fantastic to work with when you’re feeling weighed down, pessimistic or bad tempered, and the mist is particularly wonderful to use with kids.