When I was 16, my life goal was to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show. I decided the quickest way to do that was to write a list of 1,001 things I was grateful for, print it out in an eye-catching font, and post it to Oprah.
A few weeks later, I got a letter back! Signed! In permanent marker! But no invitation. I’ve held a grudge against gratitude ever since.
The reality is that life is often hard, and frequently boring. The to-do-list is never-ending, and it’s easy to get caught up in the humdrum and fail to notice the wonder all around us. But toxic positivity is also a vivid reality, and I’m not interested in being told that I “should” be grateful for my wonderful life, even on the days I’m feeling bad.
Slices of joy, though … Glimmers. Now those I can get behind.
Glimmers are tiny micro-moments of joy, thin slices of joy that are so ordinary you might not notice them, even as they present themselves directly in front of you. I wrote about them in my last book, The Grief Handbook: A guide through the worst days of your life, and although the book was about grief, that’s the section people wanted to talk about most.
And so, consistent as ever, I wrote a list of 1,001 slices of joy (if it was good enough for Oprah…) That list turned into paragraphs and those paragraphs turned into small daily meditations: a glimmer for each day of the year, plus two alternatives if that one doesn’t resonate with you. They’re grouped by season – that’s how you enter the book – and each month has a different theme: nature, sensory delights, work and play, connection.
There are over 1,000 glimmers in the book (366 days x 3 glimmers a day = 1,098 in fact!) and what surprised me was that many of my favourites are the truly ordinary moments: that first sip of tea in the morning. The smell of the calyx of a tomato as you pluck it off the vine. A hug from someone you love. A meeting cancelled on a busy day. Taking off your shoes and sinking into the couch when you get home.
Life is filled with all of these tiny, beautiful moments, but because they’re so ever-present, they’re easy to ignore. My hope – my wish! – for Daily Glimmers is that it reminds us that there is something in every day worthy of our notice. Even if it’s just for a few seconds.
And some days it is just for a few seconds. On truly dark days – when someone you love is sick, or has died, or when the stresses of everyday life threaten to overwhelm you – glimmers work. I’ve stress tested them and I can tell you that on the darkest days that’s when they really work: when they’re most important.
And as for my life goal? I am pleased to say that Oprah can keep her invitation. I’m perfectly content with the beautiful ordinary life I have right here.
* Daily Glimmers: The art of finding tiny joys every day of the year by Bridget McNulty is published by Penguin Random House.
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