Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott.
I'm just pausing up a lane as I walk on to Dartmoor and there's quite a breeze.
You can probably hear it in the leaves above my head and what's happening as well,
This breeze is bringing down leaves from the trees.
They seem to have gone into an early autumn here and many trees have gone into a bit of distress I think because of the lack of water and the leaves are falling much sooner than they usually do.
And today's reflection is actually prompted by a comment from one of the listeners here on Insight Timer.
And the comment came from Michael and it really inspired me because He said how good it is,
It's all about giving,
He said how good it is to feel deep kindness and he said it comes from your inner soul.
So that deep kindness that comes from your inner soul.
And then he posed a question,
Which I really loved.
He said,
What would the world be like if everyone was like this?
What if everybody was experiencing that deep kindness and sharing it from their inner being?
I mean,
What would that be like?
And I really loved reflecting on that,
Seeing and experiencing in my imagination a different world,
A world which was based on kindness,
Which was based on sharing and giving and being of service to people.
That really,
Really inspired me.
And then there was a quote which just seemed to accentuate and amplify this message even more.
And the quote was by someone called Edith Ward.
And it was on Insight Timer a few days ago,
And she said,
There are two ways of spreading light,
Be the candle or the mirror.
There are two ways of spreading light,
Be the candle or the mirror.
And it occurred to me that if I want to be a candle or a mirror,
Then it's my job to share the good in the world,
Like sharing the light that is already happening.
It's not about pretending that things are better than they actually are.
On the contrary,
It's about sharing what's already going on and ensuring that the reality of kindness and goodness is shared in the same way that we share the bad news and the sadness and we share our anxiety and stress.
So the quote really seems to sum this up,
Both from Michael who was asking the question,
You know,
What would the world be like if everyone shared kindness from their inner soul.
What would that be like?
And also,
What would it be like?
Because that would be like the candle.
What would the world be like?
But also,
What would the world be like if we were mirrors of that and we shared and spread the kindnesses of others to the outside world?
We shared what was already going on that was good.
We shared it so others could experience it too and realize that the world was balanced with both good and bad.
What would that be like?
So today's reflection is asking that question,
Sharing that deep kindness from your inner soul and asking the question,
What would the world be like if people did this?
What would it be like to live in a world where this was natural and forthcoming?
And also,
In the world,
Do you see yourself as a candle or a mirror or neither?
Do you share kindnesses?
Do you share love?
Do you reflect love from others into the world?
I'd love to know your reflections on this.
And I just want to say thank you to those who comment and give me some beautiful reflections myself here on Insight Timer.
I really appreciate them.
Let me know your reflections on this,
On kindness and being a candle or a mirror by sharing light in the world.
And of course,
Join me again tomorrow for another five minutes in nature.
