Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott and you join me beside my favourite hawthorn tree.
Favourite hawthorn tree,
I love this tree.
When I left on my pilgrimage I came up to this tree and just spent some time with it and on returning from my pilgrimage I brought a little offering,
A stone from the east of the country and it's so knobbled and gnarled the trunk of the tree I was able to place this tiny little stone in one of the crevices.
It's very beautiful and it has deep meaning for me this tree and the tree really reminds me of something that I want to share with you today.
It's something that I return to time and time again.
It's something for me that is fundamental,
It's the foundation of what I believe,
It's the foundation of how I see life works and this tree is such a great illustration of what it is that's truly important in life.
The tree looks like it's just balanced on the ground but of course we know it can't just be balanced on the ground,
That below the ground there are roots that firmly hold it in place.
The roots of the tree are twofold,
They give it stability,
They give it real stability and I don't know exactly with a hawthorn tree what happens with the roots but my understanding is that the roots of trees are often as big or maybe bigger than the tree itself underground so the roots give it stability and the roots also provide the place that nourishment and moisture is absorbed and taken up through the branches to the leaves and to the fruit and to the flowers.
So the roots are all important but they're not seen.
We come and admire the hawthorn when it's in beautiful white blossom.
At the moment at this time of year I can see the the berries,
The green berries starting to form on the hawthorn,
They'll go a lovely red colour in the autumn.
So we look at the tree and we admire the tree and we neglect often to see the roots that keep it in place and that keep it nourished and today is all about your roots and where you're placing your roots and how you keep yourself nourished.
You see nourishment as far as I can see I can tell you where it doesn't come from.
It really doesn't come from monetary success.
Nourishment doesn't come from who you know or the job that you do.
Nourishment doesn't come from how loud you speak or how strong your opinions are.
As far as I can see nourishment comes from being rooted in a deeper wisdom,
Being rooted in the energy that connects us all.
The truth is we are all rooted in that energy and yet for me what seems to be so special is when I bring my awareness to that energy.
You know I often talk about looking within,
Looking towards my inner compass and this is just another way of saying exactly the same thing.
It's taking my awareness away from my branches and leaves and my fruits and my blossoms.
In other words taking my awareness away from how I interact in the world.
I'm bringing that awareness down to the roots,
Down to my roots,
The place that nourishes me and it does something for me when I bring my attention to that place within.
It grounds me.
I feel rooted.
I feel as though I am drawing and being present to drawing the energy of life,
Being present to that awareness of life,
Being present to love.
So today is asking you to do nothing more than to be curious with where you put your attention and your awareness and there's nothing wrong in any of this but just notice whether you're putting your attention in your thoughts and in your feelings and in the stories you're telling yourself about the past and the future and the what-ifs and the shoulds.
That's like putting your attention solely on the branches and the leaves and the blossoms of your tree and then bring your attention down,
Down your branches,
Down the trunk,
Beneath the soil and into the roots of the tree itself and look within and feel what it is like to bring your attention deeply within to your inner compass,
To that deeper space of well-being and presence within you.
