Reflections On Grief And Love - July 12

As Liz reflects on some sad news, she recognises that allowing every emotion to rise and fall is an essential part of being human. In today's 5 Minutes in Nature, she explores the intertwined feelings of grief and love, and how they can exist side by side. Alongside the sadness, she reconnects with treasured memories held in love. Rather than pushing difficult emotions away, Liz gently allows them all, discovering the quiet strength and tenderness that comes from fully embracing the human experience.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott. Sitting up on Dartmoor in an evening. You can probably hear the sheep in the background. Above me there's a small Dartmoor pony, A brown and white pony, Grazing and I'm just watching her as she munches the grass beside me. She seems completely unperturbed that I'm here. And I've got my back to the sun. The sun is starting to sink and I can see my shadow on the grass as I'm talking to you. And the moorland here is such a deep green, The bracken and ferns are thick like a carpet racing up the hillsides. Everything feels green, The trees are green, The grass is green, The gorse bushes are green, The bracken is green, Everything is a shade of green. And you know, I've come up onto the moorland this evening because I had some sad news today. And I was deeply drawn to come up onto the moor. My uncle, Who's been very poorly over the last few months, Passed away. He passed away this afternoon. And I just knew that I wanted to come up, Sit on this rock, Look at the view, Because I'm up on a hillside and I can see a wonderful view across the farmland below me. It's a very rural place. The sky is blue. There are white clouds around me. And when I heard about him passing away, I knew I just wanted to come up in nature and spend And a little bit of time reflecting on him, On life, On the sadness of losing someone, But also that deep thread of love that coexists with that sadness, That deep blessing, Knowing that he had been part of my life, I had been part of his life, And he had been a really great uncle as I was growing up. And, You know, One of the last things he said to me, It was only a few weeks ago. He declined very quickly in the last few weeks. And before he went into that rapid decline in the last couple of weeks of his life, We, My mum and my brothers had been to see him and my aunt and we were sat on the patio. It was a sunny day and we were just chatting with him. He was, He was feeling quite good at that time. I remember my aunt was serving teas and coffees and I made a particular effort that day to help her and make teas and tidy away trays and get people fresh cups of tea and to take the empty dishes back into the kitchen. I really wanted to support her. And one of the last messages I got from my uncle, He phoned up my mum, He phoned her up every weekend to say hello. And when I'm looking after mum, I'll answer the phone and then hand her phone after he'd spoken to her and I took the phone to put the handset down again he said oh just before I go I just want to say a big thank you that other day when you all came and visited you really really helped my wife out she was so grateful for the way that you helped her and I just want you to know that and to say thank you for giving her a hand. And so my lasting memory of him is that phone call and I feel such a warm blessing to have had that as my final interaction with him. That sense of acknowledgement from him and gratitude and it just underlines the deep love that I feel for him and the deep love I feel for the blessings I have in my life. I know that death and life coexist. I know that grief and joy coexist. I know that love and sadness coexist. I know it is all okay to feel it all and as I'm here I'm just allowing the feelings to rise and fall a little bit like the waves on an ocean. So today's reflection is this, That when you feel a sense of sadness, Of grief, When you feel that rise in you, And it might be because someone has passed away, And it might be because of something that you were unable to do, Or a dream that has died, Grief arises in so many different ways. But if you feel that in your life, It's okay. Don't try and get rid of it. Don't try and push it to one side. Don't try and not feel the sadness. Feel the sadness and allow it to rise. Feel the love and allow it to rise. Allow all feelings to come, To rise and to fall within you. That's what I'm really seeing this evening as I sit here talking to you. So today's reflection is just allowing it all, Allowing all the emotions to come through you. Let me know your reflections today. And don't forget, I will be back again tomorrow for another five minutes in nature.

Reviews

Yes, allowing it all to flow through us is key for me. I do my best not to make camp, stay and rehash. It does flow in & out, if I allow it. Sorry to hear about your uncle’s passing. Nice that you had a wonderful last interaction.

Sorry to hear of the passing of your uncle. Your story of how your last memories of him from his telephone of gratitude is one my mother told me. That his spirit print lives on in you as yours is with him.

Great to have Juky 11 and 12 available on the app. July 13 did not show on my Teachers Updates. Wish you well. ✌️❤️

I am sorry to hear of your loss Liz. Your reflections around this are very comforting and helpful for us all. Grief and loss are always just below the surface for me and I appreciate your encouragement that I allow all my feelings to have a place in my life. Thank you.

Thank you Liz - for the beautiful and heartfelt reflection. Needful reminder. Blessings on your family as you all go with grief.

My heartfelt prayers to your family Liz. ✨🖤

I wanna share my own reflection i had a day before, that emotions are always comes in a mix palette like colors, existing together is what makes them so beautiful. And i resonated with this example of emotions like a colour palette, and then to paint our own artwork of life in the all the colors we can feel. That makes life vibrant and balanced like a beautiful painting.