Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott.
On a sunny afternoon here in Dartmoor,
On Dartmoor I should say,
Standing beside a pile of rocks and near the hawthorn tree that I love,
Looking up at a blue sky and white puffy clouds.
It's not warm warm,
There's a freshness to the breeze,
The season feels like it really has changed,
But it's something,
But there's something so delicious about sunshine.
And the warmth of the sunshine,
To feel that in the air.
And today's reflection comes about from a conversation I had with a friend.
And she's a coaching friend and we meet up online probably two or three times a year.
I really enjoy my conversations with her.
She's a deep thinker.
She's reflective.
She's exploring the power of women,
Older women.
She enjoys exploring nature,
The environment,
And being present to some of the imponderables in life.
And we had a conversation and the conversation turned to a subject that I hadn't really thought about before.
But it landed with me in a way that felt really significant and I want to share that with you today.
We were talking about how some people seem so crystal clear in their purpose in life,
Crystal clear in their opinions and their thoughts,
And seem to have a roadmap out in front of them.
It's like these people seem to know what they want out of life.
And then there are others,
And I fall into this category,
Who see a bigger,
Wider picture,
A broader expanse of the nuances,
The shades of grey that exist between the black and white of opinions that many people have today.
I see the nuanced way of interacting,
Of not really having strong opinions that I want to express in a forceful way,
I have an awareness that people have different opinions.
I have a sense that I might have an opinion but it might shift and change.
Because I'm much more interested in the truth of who I am,
That ever-present loving energy,
Than I am in making a point or forcing a point through argument.
And we were exploring this idea of how uncertainty or not knowing or not being opinionated doesn't seem to have a place,
A valued place,
In the culture that we're living in at the moment.
I mean,
I myself find that when I hear people with strong views and opinions,
I often find myself lining up and agreeing with them because it's like,
Well,
They seem really sure of themselves.
And then somebody else has a certain view and opinion and it's slightly different and then I align myself with that other opinion.
I'm not really interested in opinions.
I mean,
It's useful to have conversations and it's useful to express yourself,
But really that's not where I find my energy.
My energy is in realizing that there are many areas in life I just don't know.
A friend of mine said at the beginning of a meeting,
And I can't remember who she was quoting,
But she said at the beginning of the meeting,
You know,
I think it's really wise if we all just remember this.
And she quoted the following or something along the lines of,
Shall we all agree that nobody knows?
Shall we all agree that nobody knows?
And to put that into the space before a meeting where people formulate ideas and opinions and then want their opinion to be heard.
Forcibly by the power of the way they communicate and talk.
But what if a group of people agreed that nobody knows?
Nobody actually knows.
And I'd love your reflections on this today.
This sense of being okay.
Being.
.
.
This sounds a bit.
.
.
Of an oxymoron,
But being certain of being uncertain.
Like it's okay to be uncertain.
It's okay to not know.
It's okay to not put out an opinion.
And I'm also aware that possibly,
For me,
This is about expressing this more in the world so that there is a place for those who don't have strong opinions to realize they don't need to form opinions to have a place in the world.
They can be okay in their not knowing.
That also is a standpoint.
And place.
So let me know your reflections on that,
Not knowing,
Of making a stand for not knowing in the world.
And I'd love to hear what lands for you.
Don't forget,
Of course,
To join me again tomorrow for another five minutes in nature.
