It's been a minute

After a two-year sabbatical, I am reengaging with the world of technology. The decision to set aside this blogging endeavor wasn’t easy, and I have missed the opportunity to share my musings. Resurrecting this website has reminded me of how much I enjoyed it.

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During my absence, I wrote and published two books. My dreams of being an author have come true. The times have changed, and so has my zip code. My hair is a different color and there is a lot less of it. My network of friends has expanded and the number of family members has shrunk. Despite the ever-changing world around me, my pursuit of communication through the written voice has remained constant.

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Much has changed regarding Winnie, too. We have had many adventures over the past two-year lapse between blogs. Now a Summit League sniffing dog in NACSW, and Detective level dog in AKC, nose work has continued to be a fantastic voyage.

Through it all Winnie’s enthusiasm for the game and my devotion to keeping her happy hasn’t diminished an ounce.

One of the many lighthouses we visited while traveling up the Oregon Coast.

Traveling, dog trials, hiking, we continued to do the things we love while we moved across two states as the crow flies. Desert dwellers now, we arrived unscathed, but not without some difficult adjustments.

While our house in Tucson was being built, and I was preparing to leave the home I’d lived in for thirty years, I pared down big time. Having to clear out closets, cupboards, and storage bins was emotional, cathartic, and exhausting.

An image I use to calm myself. Many sensory inputs.

A month after I stopped blogging, I came across the concept of a glimmer. First theorized by licensed clinical social worker

Deb Dana in her book The Poly vagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation, a glimmer is the opposite of a trigger. Just as a negative image or act can trigger angst, a positive one can be calming. Stimulated by external forces all around us, the vagus nerve regulates how the autonomic nervous system responds.

The vagal response, whether negative, comes from the same place as when stimulated positively. In a TikTok video that went viral in February 2022, Dr Justine Grosso explains how we can achieve benefits by stimulating a positive vagal response through simple meditative techniques.

During the move to Arizona, I practiced with this theory often. Now, I am a glimmer-junky. I’m addicted to the feeling. I seek opportunities to tap into them. I never had heard of the theory but have experienced glimmers all my life. This inexplicable feeling of happiness or contentment in the most mundane of environments. The universe has always provided me with glimmers. As heavy-handed as the smell of an amaryllis in bloom which evokes a memory of my mother now gone almost thirty years. Or as simple as a wave of peace when I maneuver the car down the driveway and can feel grateful I’m not running late.

K9 NoseWork Camp 2023, Grandby, CO

Acknowledging a glimmer, we can take a moment to dwell within it. Log the mineral or musty smell of fresh rain. Track the sound of leaves rustling in a gentle breeze or the scree of an eagle soaring overhead. Even the ‘click, squeeze, whoosh, trickle’ of the Keurig can be a glimmer. It’s important to have these moments so we can store the sensation in our minds. Through visualization and controlled breathing, we can capture the benefits of a glimmer in the absence of the actual exterior stimuli. With practice, we can reduce the effects of negative triggers by conditioning our vagal response.

The external forces we encounter in our daily lives are a reality as old as time. Modern technology has sped up how we process our experiences. As a complex species who live complicated lives, to our own detriment, we have created too much negativity and stumble across less and less of the positive input needed to maintain a healthy outlook.

Fortunate am I to have the life I worked hard to build. I made my way through the gauntlet of young adulthood, used logic to make sound financial decisions, took every opportunity presented to me. Now, in my old age, I reap the rewards.

Our lives here in the desert have settled into a pleasant routine. The sniffing community has welcomed us in. I am content with the house we built, it more than meets our needs, and I love being home.

View out my window where the mountains' dynamic influence inspires me.

The glimmers I continue to log come easier now and are needed less. As I pursue the fun activities with Winnie, I feel more joy than ever. In honing my craft as an author, I enjoy sharing my thoughts. Welcoming you, my dear readers, back to the website, ai ask that you stay tuned for the future. I promise that though things have changed, me and Winnie are still the same. --S. Catalano