Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me,
Liz Scott.
I'm just taking a pause on my afternoon walk.
We had heavy rain this morning and then suddenly it brightened up and the grey clouds disappeared and there is sunshine and blue sky as I speak now.
I'm walking back home down the lane that feeds all the way down to my village,
Just stopping by a five bar gate overlooking a field and just seeing a stream of water running down the middle of the lane.
The stream which runs on the edge of the lane has broken its banks,
Not because of being too full,
Just because it's a bit leaky.
And the whole lane has now become a bit of a stream as it runs down the hill.
And today's reflection comes from a comment here on Insight Timer from Julie.
And she was commenting on the busyness of life.
And I loved what she said,
And I've been reflecting on her comments today,
Which is why I love interacting with you guys here on Insight Timer.
It often gives me things to reflect on for myself.
And she was commenting on the way that the busyness of life.
Feels like a cloak of deception.
Sort of confusing you,
Deceiving you as to what is real in life.
And I love that description,
A cloak of deception.
This sense of being busy,
Of finding yourself,
Concentrating and investing your time and energy in those things that really look and feel urgent and important.
Your mind,
Your thoughts are giving you signals,
Telling you that you should do this and you should do the other,
When in actual fact,
All of that is a cloak of deception,
Confusing you as to what is actually real.
Yesterday I touched on this.
Do you remember I was telling you about this space I'd got into about feeling the joy of being alive?
There was a load of shoulds and musts and I should do's that fell away around what I ought to do in my life.
And what opened up was this real sense of freedom,
A release,
A chance of a space to breathe.
So this landed very much for me today because it was like,
Yes,
When I am no longer deceived by the thoughts that have me be busy,
Have me focus on things that actually aren't that important,
Then I do fall for this cloak of deception.
There is something much more profound and nourishing that lies beneath this cloak of deception,
And that's what I want to point out today.
Because beneath it lies who we truly are.
And when I had that sense yesterday of that feeling of release and relief,
That feeling of joy at engaging with life.
I still feel it now,
Right in this minute.
I experience who I truly am.
Just before I came out for a walk,
I'd spent two hours lost trying to set myself up on the computer in some kind of payment thing that I need in order to sell my book.
It's just not my favorite thing at all.
It was an activity that I guess I could say didn't bring me joy.
And yet at some level,
I realized that it was not going to take my joy away.
I realized that it was a job I didn't particularly want to do.
But I was going to do it and not get lost in the cloak of deception.
As soon as possible,
I was like,
OK,
Let me listen in to what is really nourishing and healthy for me today.
And loud and clear came the nudge to go out for a walk.
It was like,
Leave everything,
Log off of your computer,
Leave your desk,
Go out into this wonderful day of blue sky and sunshine and enjoy the fresh air.
Enjoy what it is to walk,
Enjoy letting go and leaving behind that cloak of deception.
So today's reflection is a reminder about that very thing,
How we do get deceived and distracted by the busyness of life,
By the thoughts that feel urgent and need attention,
By the commitments we make and believe are important for us to keep,
By the things we think are important in our lives.
All these shoulds that line up,
Wagging their fingers,
Are that cloak of deception.
And today I'm giving myself permission to see right through it and I'm giving you permission to do that too.
So let me know your reflections on this cloak of deception.
What is it like when you actually fall back into that place of contentment,
Nourishment,
Peace of mind,
Your true nature?
Let me know your reflections and don't forget to join me again tomorrow for another five minutes in nature.
