Being Of Value - May 20

What is your value? What are your gifts, skills and attributes? In this 5 Minutes in Nature session, Liz reflects on two simple but powerful things — recognising your own gifts, and then sharing them with the world. Are you aware of the light you could be for those around you?

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott. Do you know what? I think I've just walked out on the most perfect day come up to Dartmoor which is the national park right on my doorstep and the sun is shining the birds are singing below me in the woodland I could hear a cuckoo it stopped now but I could hear a cuckoo and it was just going full blast and just below me there's a mother sheep and her lamb a ewe and her lamb oh and it's a shame the lamb was sunbathing and the mother was grazing but I think just me stopping here they've got a bit suspicious and they've got up and they're just moving a bit further away and today's reflection is all about value it came about after a walk with a friend earlier in the week and we were talking about the subject of elderhood being an older woman she's in her 70s I'm in my late 50s and she was explaining that she feels like she's transitioning into a different phase of elderhood and we were curious to understand what each other thought about this stage particularly when it came to the voices of older women and how sometimes voices of older women aren't heard and sometimes older women shrink back and mute their voices not wanting to be heard so we talked about this area of value and this is what landed for me and what she was saying she was saying that really the first step is to understand what is of value in you and as I reflected on the word value I realize it's got a bit of a financial connotation but in the context of what I'm talking about today we're not talking about financial value we're talking about skills we're talking about aptitude we're talking about what you can offer and share in the world so when I use the term value I'm using it more in the area of the gifts that you have to offer and she explained that for her she realizes that her value can sometimes be overlooked and in a meeting recently she was with a choir that she belongs to and the choir is looking to formalize its status and to become a legal entity so it's moving from something that is a little bit ad hoc to something that's got more structure and she said I was in this meeting and I've got a background of experience in creating legal entities creating not-for-profit enterprises for working with charities and I spoke up in this meeting a couple of times and at the end of the meeting people came and thanked me for my contribution and she said I'm just contemplating now whether it's something I might be able to give more time to because I feel like I can be a real value in this space and she had identified her value she had spoken up about her value or spoken out and contributed and had been recognized and acknowledged and was now contemplating how she might share even more widely and that's what I'm curious about with myself is a reflection on what is my value and part of it is recognizing what my value is myself what my gifts are for myself and I also realize that part of it will be asking others what they see I can offer the world what gifts I have because there's something I think first of all about understanding what value I have to offer what gifts and skills I have to offer and as my friend said you know often the very gifts and skills that you have to offer you don't recognize as gifts and skills because well to you they come naturally so first of all it's about me recognizing those gifts and skills and I think I'm going to ask a few people about that and then I'm going to really settle in my value in my gifts in my aptitudes in what I can offer and share in the world and from a settled space tuning into my inner compass my guidance system I am going to allow these skills these value to be shared in the world I want to let it shine forth I want to uncover it like a light that is covered over I want to take the cover off the light and allow it to shine in the world and my request is that you maybe explore the same thing ask yourself what value do I have what is my contribution to the world what are my skills maybe ask friends that question too and don't be shy about it once you understand what your value is then it's time to shine that in the world and believe you me the world really needs a lot of lights shining right at the moment I look forward to hearing your reflections and don't forget of course to join me tomorrow for another five minutes in nature

Reviews

I once was given the suggestion to ask friends what they perceive of as my strengths. It was very enlightening! You are right that we do not see our own gifts…

Showing up daily in nature is the context. Sharing your reflections is the content. Together, they become your quiet offering through Five Minutes in Nature; not simply words, but a way of being.

You offer more than thoughts. You offer presence. A place to arrive, slow down, and remember what it feels like to stand gently in the world, one small moment in nature at a time.

Thank you Liz. I enjoy being in nature too. ✌️❤️