Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott.
If you can hear the pitter-patter of rain on my rain hood and the occasional drop of rain on the microphone,
Well that's because it is raining up here on Dartmoor.
I came up and it looked like it was settled but I've read the clouds very wrong.
A misty rain has come in and I'm huddled amongst a clump of gorse bushes.
These are very dark green thorn bushes with little bright yellow flowers on them and although it's not windy I'm desperately trying to shelter myself from the rain.
So yeah,
It's a little bit of a damp one up here on Dartmoor and today I'm really clear what I want to talk to you about so let me launch straight into it.
Today is a reflection on being who I truly am and the invitation is for you to reflect on who you truly are and it came about because of a conversation with a friend and we were talking about the way that we've lived our lives often to try and prove ourselves to other people or trying to get the approval of other people.
That's what feels it is more true for me,
Wanting people to like and respect me and trying to shape my personality and my jobs and what I do in life in order to get that approval.
Well how did it show up?
Well it showed up in different ways.
I got a job for example in the BBC thinking that if I got a job in the BBC I would naturally be respected by my friends and family and when I was in the BBC I was trying to get the approval of my fellow journalists and colleagues thinking that if I could be the best radio reporter surely that's what people wanted of me and then I would be liked and respected and that was repeated when I was a coach and looking for being a successful coach and earning a successful amount of money it was I was constantly looking for the approval of other people and one of the things that we talked about today myself and my friend was almost laughing at the way that we had both in our different ways tried to be something we were not in order to please other people and of course the biggest irony is that probably nobody else was really that bothered how we were that was the irony of it we were trying to be something that we weren't to please other people when they weren't actually interested in us being anything other than ourselves and what I really see now is the power of being myself of really deeply allowing that which wants to be expressed through me to come come through and that's what I want to really share with you today and it's one thing to think that there is a self a true self within me that is the true Liz Scott Liz wanting to be this certain person in the world the true personality the true characteristics of Liz Scott but I'm actually not talking about that I'm not talking about the personal self I'm talking about the true self the true nature and this is probably the bit that's made the biggest difference in my life is being rooted in true nature in seeing awareness and consciousness and presence and knowing that there is something deeply connected within me that is beyond the striving to be a certain way or a certain person what I want to point you towards is that thing is to point you towards your true nature not your characteristics or personality or your character I'm not talking about that I'm talking about something beyond that I'm talking about that energy the creative energy the loving energy the awareness the presence of life itself wanting to take form through you and what I've found in recent years is that as I have become less interested in improving myself my personal self and more curious about who I truly am then there's an aliveness within me and a creativity that wants to be expressed through me that just blows me away so today's invitation is for you to ask yourself the question do I try hard to prove myself or am I trying to be somebody I'm not in order to please others it doesn't matter whether the answer is yes or no it's just asking yourself that question and it doesn't you don't have to feel guilty or that you should be someone different just be curious am I trying to be something that I'm not and then the second part of the question which I think is even more powerful is like who am I not who am I as a character or a personal self but who am I deeply at the core and essence of my being so those are the questions I'd love you to ask of yourself today and remember I'm out every day with five minutes in nature so why not join me again tomorrow
