Hello and welcome to five minutes in nature with me Liz Scott.
I'm here in Exeter helping to look after my mum and I'm just sitting in the back garden in the evening.
The sun has pretty much set now and there's a lovely coolness in the air.
Still no rain and still everything is looking browny yellow and just so very very dry.
And I'm reflecting on the walk that I undertook with my sister earlier in the week.
Do you remember I said that my sister and I were following the River Urn from sea to source and part of the journey we did was across Dartmoor.
Quite a long day,
Tough day of walking to find our way across moorland up to the source of the River Urn.
And today's reflection is something that made me smile because it was a reminder as I was walking of what I really do sometimes need to remember in my own life.
So there was this particular part of the walk where we came off a track and we were trying to find our way onto another track.
And it meant crossing some really hard ground,
Difficult ground to walk on.
There were big tufts of long grasses that were hiding holes and gaps in the ground.
And we had to walk so slowly with our walking poles,
Each step checking that we weren't going to fall down.
Hole as we sort of poked the stick ahead of us to see how far down it would go and then take the next step.
It took a long time to walk a mile,
Probably an hour I would think.
And we were both really cautious because we were up in the middle of the moorland and neither of us wanted to hurt ourselves.
And we eventually made it through that patch of ground and onto another track where we were able to follow a really long stone row across the moorland.
But what I just want to reflect on here is that when we came across difficult terrain,
What we did,
Quite naturally and sensibly,
Is that we slowed down.
We took our time.
We didn't rush.
And it's such a good reminder in life.
Because the temptation can be,
I don't know if the same is for you,
But for me,
When I find myself in difficult terrain mentally,
Maybe I'm in a bit of frustration or anxiety or a bit of overwhelm,
I can sometimes find that rather than slow down,
My mind speeds up.
And my mind speeds up,
And it gets more and more busy,
And I speak more quickly,
And I maybe talk more quickly to people,
Asking them to do things,
Or I find myself leaping around from different task to task,
Not quite finishing everything.
Does that resonate for you?
Well,
Remember,
I talk time and time again about the powerful message that our feelings give us.
Our feelings let us know about the thinking we're going through in the moment.
They don't let us know about what's going on in the outside world.
So when you find your mind is revved up or you're feeling overwhelmed or stressed or frustrated or anxious,
It's not the thing that you think is out there making you feel that way.
It's not that which is making you feel that way.
It's your feelings are just letting you know that you are in unsettled thinking.
It's like you're walking across moorland,
Which is treacherous underfoot,
And you need to slow down.
That's all your feelings are letting you know.
They're letting you know you're going too fast.
Your mind is going too fast.
It's time to slow down.
So today is just a reminder that when you find yourself in uncomfortable or unsettled feelings,
Don't be tempted to speed up your life.
Use it as a signal to slow down.
Use it as a signal to bring your awareness back to that place within you,
That place of peace of mind,
That true nature,
Your true self,
And allow your mind to settle.
Remember to slow down.
Don't forget to join me again tomorrow for another 5 minutes in nature and let me know your reflections on slowing down rather than speeding up.
