Is It Really A Problem? - Dec 23

Do you ever feel trapped or stuck while trying to figure out the challenges in your life? In today’s 5 Minutes in Nature, Liz reflects on whether it’s even true to see things as problems. She notices that when unsettled thoughts and stories fall away, what remains is simply something to be done.

It’s our thinking that turns situations into problems; without those thoughts, there’s only a clear action to take.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to five minutes in nature with me Liz Scott. Do you know what this is my favorite time of day I think when we've had a lovely dry day and it's the evening and the light is falling. I am sitting on a rock on Dartmoor as I look west towards what's called Western Beacon. I can't see the sun but I can see the glow of orange of the clouds that the sun is catching as it sinks towards nighttime and the sky has got a very faded blue with grey puffy clouds in it. It's been a really fabulous day and it's so good just to get out and to breathe. And today is a reflection on thinking and what's left when thinking disappears or when there is no thinking. I was overhearing a conversation that my husband had with a friend and one of the phrases he uses which I'm going to use with you today and ask you to reflect on is in the absence of thought what is left. I'm going to repeat this again several times but let me take you back to the story. The friend he was talking to was explaining that he had a couple of difficult conversations that were coming up and the friend was mulling out loud how difficult they might be and what might happen and whether or not he felt he was the right person for these conversations. It was one of those interactions where somebody was very busy in their own thinking about an upcoming event which happened to be a meeting and a conversation with a couple of people. And as my husband was listening to him he said to his friend I really hear that you have concerns about this conversation that's coming up. He said but let me ask you this question. In the absence of thought what is left? In the absence of thought what is left? And this friend who had been really speaking quickly and contemplating their future and and just telling us his worries and anxieties of what may or may not go wrong. That question landed and he fell silent. And I know that when someone falls silent with a question that they've heard it at a much deeper level than their ego or their busy intellectual mind. And he had heard it at that deeper level and there was a few moments of silence and then he smiled and he said that's a really good question. He said what is left? And they continued their conversation about in the absence of thought what was what was left with this situation that the friend had coming up. And in the absence of thought the friend realised that what he had left was a conversation to have with somebody. That was it. It was a conversation with a lot of thinking attached to it. In the absence of thought what is left? Now it's often easier to see that when you're observing somebody else who's lost in anxious thinking or worrying about the future. And it's useful for me to realise that that applies to me too. This morning I got a little bit snippy with my husband. We were doing some last minute thinking about presents. And when I say snippy I just just get a bit irritated. And I one of the things I really don't like is shopping for presents. It's just something I find is not enjoyable for me. And we were talking about a present that we needed to get for somebody and and I got a little bit sort of up in my head and said well if it's that easy why don't you go and get it? In that moment we both fell into a little bit of a battle of the egos. It doesn't last long for sure but it's just worth noticing that it does happen to us too. And as I reflect on that conversation with my husband I realised that it looks and feels absolutely real to me that buying presents is something that I don't like doing and I don't want to do. And yet in the absence of thought it's just about buying a present. I don't have to get agitated about what someone may or may not like and am I getting the right thing and is this a lot of money and will they will they actually use it or is it's like all of that stuff is additional thought, An additional burden. And in the absence of thought there's just a gift that needs to be bought for somebody. So if you have something in your life that needs attention ask yourself that question if you've got something in your life that feels a problem. In the absence of thought what is left with this? In the absence of thought what is left?

Reviews

Interesting question and pondering, Liz. Thank you
And Happy Holidays to you

I sometimes have times where there are a lot of thoughts and stories about the world events and the economy… this reminds me that in the absence of thought there is just me, in this now, with my dog. All is well. 😊🙏🏻