Glimmers, Resourcing, Goat Bells and Joy

This weekend, at the place where two rivers meet, I found myself climbing a steep path back to the car. As I walked, I heard bells in the distance. Across the water goats grazed on the peninsula between the rivers, their bells carrying through the valley.

The sound startled me with its joy. It reminded me of the bells I had once heard in the Himalayas, temple bells swaying in the wind. That same sense of stillness and expansion rose in me. In that moment I thought, I have to memorize this sound. It brings me so much joy that I want to imprint it, Xerox copy it, so I can carry it inside me.

This is what resourcing can look like. Sometimes it is a grandmother’s embrace remembered from a lonely childhood. Sometimes it is the smell of the ocean on a day you felt free. Sometimes it is goat bells across a river. Resourcing is the choice to store these moments of peace, aliveness, or beauty so you can draw on them later. Not only for joy, but also as a counterbalance in times when you feel unsteady, as a way to feel sturdy when things are out of control.

Happiness often lives in the small, in-between moments. When we allow the ordinary details to take on meaning, life itself feels more full. When we chase after the big, capital-letter “Meaning,” life tends to feel heavier, more like a struggle.

For me, joy shows up in blackberry patches along the path, or in the sight of a fig tree heavy with fruit. I pick one and eat it right there, juice dripping down my hands, sticky with the tree’s white sap. It clings for the rest of the day, but the joy is so much bigger than the mess.

People give these kinds of moments many names: glimmers, anchors, flow. The label matters less than the practice. What matters is letting them land in you, taking them in on purpose, and practicing how you hold them. When you can turn them into a portable internal tool, something you can pull out of your pocket when you need it, they become a strength.

Exercise: Taking an Imprint of Joy

Think of a moment where you feel fully alive, when your body tingles, when you are deeply engaged, or when you have just done something that lights you up.

Pause there. Breathe into it. Let yourself notice every detail.

What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you taste? What do you feel against your skin? And what do you sense inside your body: warmth, ease, energy, expansion? Feel all of your senses.

Take in each layer slowly. Let it register.

Now imagine you are making a copy of this moment, like an old Xerox machine pulling light and dark into an image. Or imagine sculpting it, something tangible you can hold. Choose the form that works for you, then breathe into it, imprinting the memory.

You are encoding this moment so you can return to it later. You are also practicing. Each time you do it, the imprint deepens, and the more accessible it becomes as a resource you can lean into when you feel shaky.

Maybe you will want to journal about it, adding words to strengthen the imprint. Or maybe it is enough to hold the sensory memory itself: the sound, the touch, the feeling inside.

For me, it was goat bells echoing across a river, carried by the wind. The joy that rose in me as I listened. By letting myself sink into that sound, I can recreate it in another moment when I need steadiness, or when I need to come back to joy.

Try this with your own moment. Let it become a resource you carry with you.

Feeling moved by this exercise?
This is the kind of inner work that leads to real change—not just insight, but momentum. If you’re exploring personal development or seeking guidance through a transition, I offer one-on-one work that blends deep awareness with actionable clarity.

Awareness is about naming what matters.
Alignment is living in a way that honors it.
Action is choosing again and again to stay in integrity with yourself.

If this exercise stirred something and you’d like support in moving forward, you’re not alone.

Learn more about my approach to life consulting and relationship coaching here or get in touch for your free 30-minute consultation here!