Reflection Wall

The Glimmer The world teaches us to watch for danger. Watch for bad news. Watch for disappointment. Watch for the next thing that might go wrong. We call them warning signs. Red flags. Triggers. We spend so much time looking for darkness that sometimes we forget to notice the light. Then one day, when you're not looking for it, a glimmer appears. An old man feeding birds like they're lifelong friends. A little girl laughing so hard she can barely catch her breath. Someone singing at a red light with the windows down and not a care in the world. A couple holding hands after fifty years together. A stranger helping another stranger without asking for recognition. Tiny moments. Ordinary moments. Moments most people walk past. But every now and then, one catches your eye. And for a second, the weight gets lighter. For a second, the noise grows quiet. For a second, you remember there is still good in this world. Sometimes a glimmer makes you smile. Sometimes it makes you laugh. Sometimes it catches you so off guard that a snort slips out before you can stop it. And sometimes, on the days when your heart feels tired, a glimmer is enough. Not enough to fix everything. Not enough to erase pain. Not enough to solve every problem. Just enough to remind you that hope is still here. That joy is still here. That kindness is still here. The world changes one person at a time. Maybe it changes one glimmer at a time too. So when you find one, hold onto it. And when you can, be one for somebody else. The idea for this poem was inspired by Ronda's "Glimmer Alert" on WCQR Morning Radio. Her reminder to look for small moments of joy helped shape both this poem and the vision for the Glimmer Board community project.

A Little Better Than Yesterday I don't have all the answers. I don't have a perfect life. I don't have a perfect past. I've made mistakes. I've failed. I've lost things I can never get back. But in 2019, after one of the darkest moments of my life, I made a decision. I would stop trying to become perfect. I would stop waiting until I had everything figured out. Instead, I would focus on one thing: Being a little better than I was yesterday. A better husband. A better father. A better son. A better friend. A better worker. A better person. Some days the improvement is huge. Some days it's tiny. Sometimes the victory is building a company. Sometimes the victory is apologizing when I was wrong. Sometimes the victory is simply getting out of bed and trying again. The goal isn't perfection. The goal is progress. Because life isn't built in giant leaps. It's built in small steps taken consistently over time. If we can all be a little better today than we were yesterday, eventually we'll look back and realize we've come farther than we ever imagined. Just keep showing up. Just keep learning. Just keep growing. A little better than yesterday

The Power of Positivity When you surround yourself with negativity, that's all you begin to see. You see what's broken. You see what's missing. You see every problem, every setback, every reason to quit. The world starts to look darker not because it changed, but because that's where your eyes are fixed. But when you choose to look for the good, something changes. Not the circumstances. You. You begin to notice the blessings. A door opens where you expected a wall. A kind word arrives when you needed it most. A small victory appears in the middle of a hard week. Something as simple as extra time, an unexpected opportunity, or a helping hand becomes a reminder: God is still working. The problems may still be there, but so are the blessings. Yesterday I worried about everything that could go wrong. Today I remembered everything that has gone right. I reached my limits and somehow found extra room. I looked for proof that I was failing and instead found proof that I was loved. I spent so much time wondering how to show my children I care, only to wake up and find a message waiting for me. "Love you. Goodnight." A simple sentence. A sentence that reminded me I don't have to prove my love in one grand gesture. I prove it every day. By showing up. By trying again. By being present. By loving them the best I know how. Positivity isn't ignoring reality. It's choosing to see the whole picture. The struggles. The blessings. The setbacks. The victories. And realizing that even on the hardest days, there is still something good worth holding onto. So today, I'll look for the silver lining. I'll count the blessings. I'll keep moving forward. And I'll choose positivity, because there is already enough darkness in the world. I would rather be a light.