Hello and welcome to five minutes in nature with me Liz Scott out and about in Exeter.
I am just wandering along the pavement beside the road here and I can see alongside the pavement,
Let me just see if you can hear it,
There's some brown crunchy leaves,
Can you hear those?
So they're already starting to fall and gather at the side of the road here at Exeter as I make my way out to get a bit of fresh air having looked after my mum today.
You might hear the occasional car go by.
It's not that busy where I am at the moment,
But here we go.
Here's one just passing by.
But I am out and about just speaking with you.
And today's reflection is looking at happiness and contentment and peace of mind.
It's funny,
Really,
I tend not to use the word happiness because it doesn't have a connotation for me that really lands deeply.
So the first thing I want to say to you is find a word that really resonates for you.
For me,
When I talk about happiness,
The words I use are peaceful,
Peace of mind,
Contentment,
Gratitude,
They have a real richness and resonance with me as I reflect on them.
But I'm talking about the nature of happiness and what it is to fall into that space of happiness.
Yesterday we talked a little bit about thought.
Do you remember how those thought storms can really impact us and drown us with emotion?
And today I want to explore what it is that is beneath thought,
Beneath everything that we can get so distracted with as human beings.
And what is beneath everything is,
For me,
Peace of mind.
It is contentment.
It is love.
That's what's up there.
The core and essence of everything in my life and in your life.
How do I know that?
Because we're made of the same energy.
So we are all made of this energy.
And our experience of it in life is one of contentment,
Happiness,
Love,
Joy,
Gratitude,
Whatever the word is for you.
Now one of the biggest problems that people come across is that they wait for a certain set of circumstances or an outcome before they allow themselves to consider being happy or have peace of mind or feel gratitude.
So there is an I will be happy when kind of mantra that many people have.
It can be subtle.
It can be maybe you've got a goal for work or for your family.
Maybe it's your children you want them to achieve something and then you'll be happy.
Maybe it's about a monetary goal,
Or there's a piece of technical equipment you want,
Or a house you want,
Or a garden,
Or a car,
Or there's just something that you desperately want,
Or you really deeply want,
And you have a sense that that thing will give you happiness.
It doesn't work like that.
It's the wrong way round.
If you're waiting for something to happen before you feel happy,
Then you're going to be waiting a long time.
Happiness is our true nature.
Peace of mind,
Joy,
Love,
Connection.
That is who we are at our soul level,
All of us.
We're made of the same energy.
And when you realize that,
Then rather than look to the outside world,
Rather than look to your outcomes,
The future,
Thinking of things you want before you're going give yourself time to feel that happiness.
Rather than do that,
Instead you look within to that ever-present space of awareness and peace that is already present.
That's the place to look.
So when I get lost in thought storms or worries or anxieties,
As soon as I notice what's going on and I notice that I'm lost in one of those thought storms,
I bring my awareness within.
I'm not talking about bringing my awareness within my body.
I'm talking about bringing my awareness within the essence of the energy of life itself.
Feeling that energetic aliveness of being.
So today the reflection is this.
If you're feeling that you need to achieve something before you feel happy,
Think again.
What if it's the other way around?
What if it's really about finding that place of peace,
Joy,
And happiness and love within you,
And then moving through the world in whichever way feels aligned to you?
Let me know your reflections.
And of course,
Don't forget to join me again tomorrow for another five minutes in nature.
