Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott.
I'm overlooking a view in Exeter that's kind of familiar.
But not familiar.
It's familiar because probably about 30 years ago I would walk this spot and my mum used to work in one of the houses.
It was a care home that I can see perched at the top of the valley on the other side of where I am at the moment.
There's a valley that steeply goes downhill and then comes back up again.
There are some big houses then that make their way down the hill and so I kind of know it.
It's sort of bringing back a few memories but it's It's just nice to get out and explore a slightly different place in Exeter than I normally do.
Lots of walkers,
Dog walkers,
People walking about,
So you might hear a little bit of conversation as I speak with you.
And as I was pausing to look at the view,
I noticed the blackberries were looking rather good,
So I've been eating a few blackberries and savouring the juiciness of them.
They are really delicious right now.
At the moment.
And today's reflection is all about being yourself,
Being your own voice in the world.
And I've just come off the call with a client who has a meeting coming up where she is already feeling anxious and concerned about the outcome of that meeting.
And this is just what happens,
You see,
For all of us,
Is something comes up or is about to come up that we start to create stories about how badly wrong it's going to go.
And then what happens is when that event actually happens,
Often we are lost in the stories,
We're lost in the fear.
And so the conversation I was having with my client was about her really finding that sense of rootedness and groundedness and for her to be herself in the meeting.
She had an idea of how the other people may or may not respond according to how they've responded in previous meetings.
And the thing is this,
Is that the most important thing is for you,
When you're in a circumstance like this,
Where you're a bit concerned about a conversation that may or may not happen,
Or the way it might go in the future,
Is to stay rooted and grounded.
Now,
My language might be to stay grounded in love.
I described it to her about being rooted in who she truly was.
She is an incredible woman with a wonderful skill set.
And she sometimes finds that the noise of stories in her head make her deeply doubt herself.
And the conversation we were having was reminding her to stand in that space,
Take up her space in the world,
And to speak with authority on the things that she knows.
That's how she could be herself,
Be grounded and rooted in this meeting.
That doesn't mean the meeting will go particularly well or particularly badly.
It doesn't mean anything.
Who knows what the outcome of the meeting will be?
But the most important thing for me to communicate with her was for her to stay rooted.
And that's what I want to explore with you today is this idea of staying rooted,
Staying grounded in what you know.
It's so easy to get lost in the stories,
Particularly projected stories about frightening futures.
But there are no answers in those frightening stories.
The more we pay attention to those stories,
The more frightening they get.
So today's reflection is all about being you.
And this isn't about pretending to be a different character or a different personality.
It's not even standing in the ego of the identity and personality you think you are.
This is about something deeper.
Can you see that?
It's about really looking within,
Deeply within your soul,
And hearing who you truly are.
Unhindered by the expectation of others and allowing that to be expressed in the world,
Giving voice to that.
In my humble opinion,
That's what the world needs more of.
The world needs more people deeply rooted spiritually and to their soul,
And then expressing themselves in the world from that place.
Let me know your reflections.
And of course,
Don't forget to join me again tomorrow for another five minutes in nature.
