New Year Contemplation On Thought - Jan 01

As the New Year begins, what are you choosing to reflect on? Instead of setting a goal, Liz invites curiosity—pausing to consider what truly feels important. In today’s 5 Minutes In Nature, she reflects on how she might explore the power of thought in the year ahead. She realises that continuing this exploration herself, and sharing it with clients, could become a meaningful and powerful way to connect with others.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to five minutes in nature with me Liz Scott. It's the start of a new year and I am sheltering in a lane. It's a very grey, Flat day. It's what I call a typical January day and when I say flat the cloud is low and everything feels like it could just do with a light being illuminated on it, Maybe a dimmer switch of the Sun being turned up just so I could see things more clearly but it's good to be out. It's always so good to be out and I'm just pausing in this gateway of a field. There's a muddy track beneath my Wellington boots where a tractor has gouged its way into the field and it's on a road so you'll probably hear the occasional car or farm vehicle go by and today I'm just reflecting. I'm in a bit of a reflective mood actually. I used to have New Year's resolutions that I would set for myself often around my career or my fitness or my health and I would set goals and try and keep to those goals and I just don't do that anymore. It doesn't make sense to live my life with a set of goals that I'm trying to reach and get to. Instead I find I have a bit of an aspiration or a reflection or a pondering on what might occur in the year and a curiosity maybe is a better way of putting it and that's how I feel for this new year. I'm curious about what will happen. You see last year I had no intention of recording five minutes in nature every single day for the whole year and yet that seemed to be something that evolved. I had an experiment to try it to the end of January and then extended the experiment to the end of February and then I just kept going and I'm kind of curious if there's something else that's in the wings that will come into being that I haven't fully seen yet but maybe a project or a creative way of being that will find its way into my life and I'm so looking forward to experiencing that if that is the case. Today though as I reflect on this new year I'm aware of one thing that I'm very curious about and let me take you back a couple of days ago my husband was coaching and he's a great coach very much grounded in the inside-out understanding and I had to just nip into the room in which he was coaching. He was on the phone and so I could hear him talking and as I nipped in the room and picked up something that I'd forgotten and closed the door quietly behind me I could hear him talking really clearly to his client about the nature of thought. He was talking about thought and how thought can create stories that can be unsettling and insecure and to challenge and he was challenging the thought and the stories that the client was coming up with and it was a fleeting thing for me to hear and I always believe that when I hear something and it stays with me that the universe wanted me to hear it because it had me reflect on my coaching and the coaching that I provide which I listen brilliantly and I listen intuitively and there is something I wonder if I'm being called to explore in my coaching which is supporting my clients more explicitly in understanding the nature of thought and as I was walking up here today on this walk there's something which is still repeating in my mind it's an old thought from something someone did a few days ago that still hasn't quite dissipated yet and I know for sure that there is no answer in trying to explore that story there's just no point me doing it so I'm just allowing it to do its thing and bringing my awareness back to myself and when I'm given opportunities to explain what happened a couple of people said what happened you know what happened with you and so and so the other day and I've I've just realized there's no point going there because as soon as I have to tell the story then I'm making the story real and there's no answer in the story and for me it feels as though I'm being called to share more about the nature of thought help people see through the nature of thought you see we are all we are is peace love and wisdom as Jack Kransky says in his famous quote all we are is peace love and wisdom and the power to create the illusion that we're not and it's recognizing both those things that we are peace love and wisdom and we have the power to create the illusion that we're not those are the things that help us navigate through life so I'm curious whether I'm going to be exploring much more this nature of thought with the people I come across as I coach them and I'm very curious about what that's going to look like and to see what pans out for me in 2026 I just wonder if you've got any curiosities for you anything that you're going to be exploring in this new year

Reviews

Happy New Year Liz! Thank you for all your daily thoughts throughout the year. I've found them to be of great help and they prompt me to look into my own thought patterns and be honest with myself as to where I can be blinkered in my own thinking.
I don't set resolutions but have always chosen a word/phrase for the coming year based on how I want to feel and/or on what I want to experience or achieve in the year ahead. My word for 2026 is being a bit elusive as I know there will be a lot happening this year but can't yet see where I want to direct my energy. The word will come in time and help guide me onwards.
Wishing you all the best for the coming year.

🎊🎇 Happy New Year, dear Liz! 🎇🎊

So wonderful that you are continuing with the daily reflections in nature throughout this year too.
I have truly enjoyed walking with you in nature, while reflecting and feeling, throughout last year, and I am so looking forward to continue this journey with you for this year.

Thank you so much for providing this series and sharing it with us all in here. 🙏🏻🤍

Much love from Viktorija in Sweden! 🤍🇸🇪

A wonderful inspiring reflection to start 2026 with, thank you Liz.

The fact is, 1/1 is a day, like all days, an opportunity to live our life fully. As I step into this year, I feel my curiosity is drawn towards making each day 1/1, an opportunity to bring my awareness to connections with compassion towards all others, including myself.

Love banishes fear and it will be my guiding principle on my journey.

Thank you for your guidance and willingness to share your wisdom. 🙏🏼