Who knew a pretty bar of soap would be a glimmer
Hello friends. I was in the shower the other day and looked down at a purple, black, and white soap with the frosted topping and felt a surge of dopamine in my brain that warmed my whole body and spirit. My thoughts shifted to a comment I hear over and over again from my customers, "That soap is too pretty to use, If I buy it, it will sit in the guest bathroom just as an interesting conversation piece."
The truth is, if this statement resonates with you, you're missing out. You deserve to feel an unexpected rush of pleasure in a time and place that you didn't expect. Our time is precious here and it's time to buy the pretty things for use. The pretty soap, candle, blouse, or earrings.
It's time for me to tell you more about why a moment like this is so important to me as a person. Up until this point I've kept myself hidden away for fear of judgement, but what if I'm missing out on an opportunity for connection to you. So, here goes......
Like many others, I have suffered with anxiety my whole life. I have never taken any medication for it and have mostly relied on meditation, and other grounding practices of mindfulness throughout the day. At times, it's really bad and other times, I barely notice it in the background. It's been a roller coaster my whole 33 years. For the most part, I've become pretty good at hiding it from the people around me.
A few years back when my anxiety was at it's worst, I went to a Medical doctor for help. I sit there on the weird plastic bed thing in the office waiting to make a break through. The doctor enters the room and I explain where I'm at mentally and I finally work up the nerve to spill the words I had forced back so many times before, "I'd like to see how an SSRI would effect me" Now granted- she doesn't know EVERYTHING, just the current state of my mind. She tells me that she was just at a conference dedicated to mental health for providers and how to do the most good for their patients. She said the one small self care act per day was enough to help people heal and in studies did just as well as an SSRI. She said to start thinking about what sparks joy and do that everyday (as long as it's safe and legal of course). An example used at the conference was, pick or buy a flower and place it in a glass of water on your desk or in your workspace so that you can look at it all day. Here I am thinking, "This lady is crazy! I'm here for some meds and she's over here talking about sparking joy. I don't even know how long it's been since I've felt joy!" I was honestly so desperate to feel better. I had taken her advise a sign that I should not try meds for my General Anxiety Disorder and look for what sparks joy.
Please don't confuse my personal choice, for advise about what to do about your mental health. I'm simply sharing my experience. It took a few more months for me to create enough distance between my thoughts and my feelings before I was regularly searching for what sparks joy. We also hear it as, "look for glimmers". Glimmers are those small enjoyable parts of your day that bring joy to our minds and hearts. Who knew that a pretty bar of soap would be a glimmer.
