Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me,
Liz Scott.
It's early morning,
I've been walking beside the River Axe.
It's a very calm morning,
Quite cool,
The sun is just starting to spill its warmth out but the edge of the wind has been cold and I've been walking quickly and I'm leaving the river now,
Walking up a hill and I'll be walking towards the Cathedral in Exeter and then into the city itself to find a coffee shop.
It's my little treat when I come and look after mum in Exeter and do you remember yesterday I was reflecting on something that had really landed for me,
This idea of serving others rather than serving the self and it was something that had really struck a chord and I wanted to share with you and then today as I was walking and reflecting on what I'd said yesterday I thought you know what I need to clarify something because had I heard that 10-15 years ago I would have interpreted it very differently.
So 10 or 15 years ago I would have thought that serving others was a thing I needed to do at all costs and I would put on my almost my martyr hat and go and do things for other people but kind of resent it and that's not what I'm talking about and equally when I talked about not serving the self I would have interpreted that as meaning well I just need to look after others at all costs and I really don't mean that.
So I want to just clarify it and articulate it with you and just see what lands as as I form my thoughts around this.
You see for me serving self is destructive when the self that I'm talking about is that egoic self the self that's always wanting more that's never satisfied that is always telling you or in my case me I'm not good enough I need to get more do more I need to be successful that's the self that I'm talking about that's the self not to serve however there is another self that is all part of the recognition of being more than you think you are this recognition of true self and the way that I see true self is that it is beyond the thoughts and thinking that we have it is a space of love it is a space of clarity it is a space of wisdom and awareness that lies beneath a busy mind now that self is not egotistical that self actually is what I would call on as my inner compass it points me in the right direction it is that which points me towards health and nourishment in my life and that self is where I really put attention so I'm going to qualify what I said yesterday about serving others and serving self because I think it's important to make that distinction I'm not talking about the egoic self so when I'm talking about self in the egoic sense absolutely don't serve that that will just bring you misery and a sense of lack however when you allow yourself to settle into who you truly are here's what I find is I feel love rise within me compassion wants to be expressed and I look around and see how I might be of service to others so that maybe is the more correct way of talking about serving others it's coming from a place of love and wanting to connect and then what I find is that when I am serving others from that place from that space of love of openness and of compassion and that's a different space than that tight space of feeling I have to do it or resenting what I'm doing but when I come from a place of love and compassion then I serve others and it feels it feels nourishing it doesn't feel a chore it feels as though I am being fed with nourishment the nourishment of love it feels sustaining so I wanted to make that distinction today when I say don't serve yourself I don't mean your true self I mean don't serve that egoic tight needy part of you that wants attention don't serve that however bring your awareness back and fall into love fall into that space of awareness and then from that space see how compassion arises in you and how you naturally want to be of service to others and it's when you are of service to others from that space that is where the magic truly lies in feeling fulfilled and with purpose in life I'd love to know your thoughts and of course don't forget to join me again tomorrow with another five minutes in nature
