Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me,
Liz Scott,
Sitting on a granite boulder,
Watching the sun starting to sink behind the hill and feeling so grateful at my life and being able to come up here onto the moorland of Dartmoor and just be present to the peace,
The feeling of the wind,
The last remnants of the sun,
Just being present this land.
And I've actually brought up a flask of tea.
And I've not done this before on my little walks.
And I thought today,
I just fancy taking a flask of tea up,
Sitting on a rock,
And just giving myself time to sit and be present.
And one of the things I want to share with you today came from one of the comments here on Insight Timer.
And I love hearing your reflections and comments.
And that's what I want to share with you today.
It came from Sandra.
It was a few weeks ago now she was talking about voting and what for her she wants to vote for in life.
Now,
Whilst this might seem like it's taking a political direction,
It's not.
It really helped me when I get a bit confused with the different politics and the opposing opinions and the culture wars that seems to be fighting at the moment within society about rights and wrongs and people getting entrenched in different opinions and what's the right way.
Way.
The comment from Sandra really touched me and had me reflect so I'm going to read out what she said and then I'm going to tell you my reflections.
She said,
I vote for kindness not cruelty,
Reverence for nature and its creatures,
Equality,
Stability,
And opportunity,
Respect for fellow humans.
Above all,
Love and peace.
I vote for kindness,
Not cruelty,
Reverence for nature and its creatures,
Equality,
Stability and opportunity,
Respect for fellow humans and above all,
Love and peace.
This got me reflecting on how sometimes I get confused when I listen to current affairs in the news and wonder who I should vote for and where to place my vote when the time is right.
And actually this makes it very simple.
Voting for love and peace.
That's where I want to place a cross on a ballot paper.
That's what I want to vote for.
And I can actually extend this into the wider version of my life.
I don't have to wait until politicians are wanting my vote.
I can vote for love and peace in the way that I live my life.
And that for me feels really important too.
I can live my life.
With a vote for kindness and not cruelty.
For being kind to people and to animals and to shunning away from cruelty.
I can vote for nature.
I can turn up in nature,
Be with nature.
Be with this beautiful earth that we have been blessed to be born in and on.
And feel a reverence for the land around me.
And know that I'm in relationship with that land and it is in relationship with me.
I am part of nature.
I'm not separate from it.
Nature is being expressed through me,
That extraordinary energy and essence of life itself takes form through me as well as through this beautiful world all around.
I vote for equality,
Stability in opportunities and respect for fellow humans.
Yes,
There is something for me.
In the simplicity,
Almost,
When I talk about respect for fellow humans,
I don't get lost in gossip.
I don't talk about people behind their backs.
I totally respect people.
And whilst I might not agree with them,
And I might not like the choices they make,
I respect them.
I respect them to be themselves in the world.
And above all,
I vote for love and peace.
Yes.
Love and peace.
I forget sometimes.
I know I sometimes get annoyed and angry and frustrated.
I can lash out at people.
I can say things that are hurtful.
I understand that there are times I forget.
But when I remember,
I make a stand for love and peace.
I hold the line for love and peace.
Because that for me is what is important in the world.
Let me know what resonates for you in today's reflection.
What do you vote for?
What do you make a stand for?
And don't forget,
Together,
Our voices are loud.
Many thanks for joining me today.
And don't forget,
Of course,
To join me again tomorrow for another five minutes in nature.
