Hello and welcome to five minutes in nature with me Liz Scott and I'm pausing on my walk this afternoon looking over a five bar gate onto what would have been an old golf course.
You can't get in there anymore it's closed down but I do love looking over the gate imagining actually that maybe one day I could buy it and just rewild this whole area it's a very beautiful spot.
It's framed my view by trees overhead there's a hazel tree and a hawthorn tree that are creating this wonderful mini frame as I look out onto the yellow and green of the grass.
And then beyond that I can see,
Peeking through the trees,
I can see the moorland,
Which is stretching up to the blue of the sky.
It feels as though summer has shifted,
Things that the temperature is shifting and changing,
And I've got to say I,
For one,
Am quite glad about that.
It's been quite a long hot summer and I'm so hopeful we get the right amount of rain soon so that we can fill up our rivers,
Streams and reservoirs.
And today's reflection is from Marie.
She commented on something I shared on Insight Timer a few days ago and it really had me reflect and I love these comments that you make that just really inspire me to reflect myself.
I see us as fellow pilgrims.
I see us as sharing stories,
Sharing ideas,
And encouraging and supporting each other,
Which is why I love it when you share your reflections and thoughts here on Insight Timer.
And what Marie talked about were three things.
She talked about presence,
Patience,
And receptiveness.
Presence,
Patience,
And receptiveness.
And I'm going to reflect on these as I have been with regards to where I am in my world at the moment.
For those of you that listen regularly here on Insight Timer,
You'll know that as an older woman,
I'm in a transition and I'm finding a new way of being in the world.
It's like I've shed an old skin and I'm finding a new way of expressing myself,
Creating,
Being present,
Showing up in the world,
Not hiding back in the shadows,
But taking up space,
My space in the world.
And so I've been reflecting on these three words around my particular journey.
But I'd love to hear how these three words maybe reflect your journey as well.
So first of all,
Presence.
Be with the moment.
I guess it comes back to that time and time again for me,
When my mind speeds up with thoughts about the future or the past or am I doing things right or the stories or limiting beliefs I might tell myself.
Well,
That's the opposite of presence.
When,
However,
I notice those thoughts,
For me,
That is like the keyhole I'm peering through into presence,
Noticing my feelings,
Noticing those thoughts,
And then eventually landing back in that space of calm,
Of stillness,
Of peace of mind.
So presence is really important.
When I get scared about my personal journey ahead,
Am I doing the right thing?
Will I earn enough money?
All of these repetitive thoughts that keep going round and round in my head.
Presence is always key and the foundation to being in the moment,
Coming back to where I am.
And the second word Marie talks about is patience.
And this,
Again,
Is something I see time and time again.
Everything is moving at its proper speed.
With me,
Sometimes I think things need to speed ahead,
I need to do things faster,
I need to do things more quickly.
Yet time and time again,
As I was reminded on my pilgrimage last year when I walked across England,
There is nothing gained by going quickly.
In fact,
You lose things.
You lose the ability to see what's in front of you.
So patience,
That reminder that everything is moving at a proper speed,
And I am moving into this transition in my life as an older woman at the right speed.
So patience,
Presence,
And the final word today is receptiveness.
Listening with an open heart.
And with you now,
As I look across this gate and I look out onto the sky and the trees and the leaves and the grasses,
I am listening with an open heart,
Seeing where wisdom and intuition wants to take me.
That's what receptiveness means for me.
On presence,
Patience and receptiveness.
I'd love to know what those words mean for you.
And of course,
Don't forget to join me again tomorrow for another five minutes in nature.
