Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott.
I'm still sitting on the steps in my mum's garden overlooking her lawn which is a beautiful mass of yellows and whites and purples.
I've actually done a little bit of investigating and I mistakenly called these yellow flowers dandelions yesterday.
They're actually known as cat's ear and they look a little bit like dandelions but they're much taller and the flowers are smaller and in amongst them I can also see see some buttercups and the purple flower that I can see dotted around the lawn is self-heal and as I look a little bit closer I can also see there is some clover flowers as well and I keep hearing the little buzz of bees as they go by investigating these different flowers and having a little bit of food as they dip into the nectar and head on and move along.
And if you remember yesterday,
I was talking about a friend that I had spoken to who was going through her chemotherapy journey.
She's been diagnosed with cancer and she's coming to the end of it now and is really thrilled that is the case.
And we met up for a cup of coffee and yesterday I was sharing a little story about how much she's been touched and moved by the care and love that people have shown her as she's been going through this health journey.
And for her,
She's like,
I really I like to tell people that I care for them before they go through a crisis.
That's what I really see as important.
And there's another conversation that we had that I thought would be lovely to share with you.
As she was explaining some of the things that have moved her personally as she's been on this health journey,
One of the other things she talked about was enjoying the simple joys of life.
I want to give context here because this friend of mine is in the world of conventional success.
She is right at the top of her tree.
She's run different companies.
She is financially well off.
She has earned her money.
And in the eyes of the world,
She is what somebody would call very successful.
She's had a very successful career.
And so I was really curious as we sat there having a cup of coffee together what she meant by simple joys because of course she experiences a lifestyle that I don't experience and she has a lot more disposable income and can sort of buy many more things than I can ever dream of.
So I wanted just to get clear what is it that she means by a simple joy.
And she didn't really hesitate.
She just said this and she gestured to the coffee that we had in front of us.
She said,
Just meeting and having a cup of coffee.
For me,
This is a simple joy and I cherish it.
And I smiled because I really resonate with this message.
My life is full of simple joys.
I can't tell you the joy I'm getting just from sitting on the step,
Looking over my mum's lawn,
Watching the bees,
Watching the butterflies,
And feeling a sense of well-being and a sense of perfectness,
Rightness,
At the beauty of this lawn which is bedecked in different colours of yellow,
Purple and white.
For me,
This is a simple joy,
Being present to it.
Being aware of it.
These simple joys can be a moment in time.
I'm looking after my mum at the moment,
And there's something I get from just being with her and supporting her.
It feels really right.
And cognitively,
She's finding things hard.
She's moving into a dementia journey.
But there are times we just sit and she might hold my hand and we're just really connected and together.
Simple joys.
I'm really reflecting on that today.
Taking time to cherish those simple joys in life.
And for me,
I'd love to know your reflections on simple joys.
What simple joys turn up in your world,
In your life?
Last night for me,
I was very tired.
My mum had been quite restless the night before and I hadn't had a good night's sleep.
And the simple joy for me last night was going to bed early.
Getting into bed early and just feeling this excitement that I was going to go to sleep and catch up on my sleep.
Simple joys can be as simple as that.
But what are the simple joys in your life?
I'd love to know.
Wouldn't it be good to share simple joys with each other and realise that our lives are blessed.
Being alive is a blessing.
And there are simple joys that are available in all our lives.
Let me know your reflections and of course,
Don't forget to join me again tomorrow for another five minutes in nature.
