Somehow we ended up here!

How are you coping?

A cartoon

A thought

A quick hello from L’il Bean, how are you doing? I have truly been sucked into the intersection of this Venn diagram this week with not much time for anything I put at the top of my list.

This cartoon was inspired by a note from Eric Keyser, whose Substack I have just discovered. Thanks, Eric, for the inspiration - it gave me a good chuckle.

How are you coping? What is something that is helping you stay grounded? A dear friend in the US has been teaching all her clients 54321 - I’m not sure where it originated but we learnt it from Elizabeth Gilbert:

Just pause and notice…

• 5 things you can see

• 4 things you can touch

• 3 things you can hear

• 2 things you can smell

• 1 thing you can taste.

There… sigh… right now, as you read this, everything is OK.

Glimmers and sparks*

My glimmers for today are:

• Chai tea - yum, is it slightly embarrassing how often my glimmers are food?

• Meeting 3 L’il Bean readers who live near me - brought together via Sarah Wilsons invitation to connect in our local areas. For four people brought together via a book serialisation on collapse, we had a marvellous, joyful time, full of laughter! Thank you my new friends for a lovely morning :)

• Working on a beautiful sculpture this week of life-size horses - the workmanship is exquisite.

Li’l bean is your reminder to pause and ask: What are your glimmers for today?

From your friend and your small, steadfast companion,

*Drawing Li’l Bean helped me navigate out of a period of depression in 2023. A good friend 13, 595km away, helped, too, through a ritual of swapping daily glimmers via text.

A glimmer is a tiny spark of hope, enthusiasm or joy that lifts your heart. By helping me find three glimmers each day, she gently helped me see the joy and beauty already around me.

I’d like to share this practice with you and invite you to reflect on your glimmers for the day when you read this. Think of Li’l Bean as a reminder to notice the glimmers and sparks in your life. We’d love it if you would like to share your glimmers in the comments or by hitting reply (if you don’t like sharing publicly).