The Power Of Your Authentic Voice- March 24

What stops you from saying what you really mean? In this 5 Minutes in Nature, Liz gets honest about her own hesitation around speaking up — the familiar worry that her words might cause friction or disagreement. But a recent social media exchange reminded her of something important: a voice grounded in love and authenticity deserves to be heard, and the world is better for it.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to five minutes in nature with me Liz Scott, Huddling behind a gorse bush. This is often what I do when I'm on Dartmoor, Finding a little bit of shelter so I can speak to you, And the gorse bushes are quite prolific on Dartmoor. They're like a thorny bush and these ones where I'm standing at the moment are covered in bright yellow flowers. It looks like they're like fairy lights on a Christmas tree. They're very pretty and I've just walked up a hill so excuse me for panting a little bit. I'm on my way back home and just enjoying getting out for some fresh air whilst it's not raining. That's such a joy at this time of year. And today's reflection is about voice, Finding your voice, Speaking your voice, Speaking your truth. I want to tell you a story of how that turns up for me and I'd be really curious as well what this turns up for you. We'll have different stories about expressing ourselves authentically and I'd love to know what your story is as well. So I love rewilding and I love that in our little village we've got a patch of ground, A couple patches of ground, Where we are allowing grasses to grow in the summer and when we encourage the grasses to grow, Wildflowers grow, There's many more butterflies, Many more insects and as a result there's more food for the birds that we have in our village and it feels such a privilege to be part of a project that brings and encourages wildlife in our village. Now the downside of it is that it looks quite scruffy to some eyes, Not to my eyes. I've grown used to what I see as beautiful, Which is sitting amongst the long grasses in the summer and watching them sway. It's one of the most peaceful things I do. I love it so much but for other people they see long grass and it looks scruffy and much prefer a short green lawn rather than a meadow. I mean it's a tiny patch of land, Less than a third of an acre I think. And I don't use social media but on social media somebody put a comment about the meadow saying they didn't particularly like it and they said it looked scruffy. That was that was their point of view and I had the most interesting reaction. My husband showed me the comment because like I say I don't go on social media so I don't read these comments but he knew I'd be interested and there were two comments that said similar things and I noticed something which was really interesting. I noticed my reaction was one of feeling almost trembly and sick inside, Scared that my views were different than others and scared that I wouldn't be able to express myself or if I were to express myself I might cause disagreement or argument. Now I noticed all of this and because I'm really curious about how feelings rise up and fall and what that feels like to me I don't really get unduly worried about them. I just find them I'm quite curious and I realized that this was something that was asking me about expressing my voice in the world and I knew deeply as I listened to my inner compass to my intuition I knew that I wanted to write a comment but I didn't want to go on social media to do it so instead I contacted a friend and said would they mind posting this comment on the group and the other thing I did which felt absolutely right is that I didn't respond to the people that had made those derogatory comments about the wild flowers meadows that we were trying to create in the village. I just spoke from my heart and it felt really good. It felt really good to express the love of nature, My love of seeing plants and animals and knowing that we were making a tiny difference in a country that is very depleted of nature. The England and Britain is very depleted of nature. I have no idea how those comments landed I don't go on social media I'm not even sure if my comments were posted it doesn't really matter to me but I knew that I needed to speak out and I knew that for me my voice was not about making anybody else wrong it was about expressing my view so that others knew that there was another way of seeing the situation that there was someone else out there that saw the situation differently. So this is all about you recognizing your authentic voice. How does it feel for you when you are compelled to speak authentically in the world? I would genuinely love to know your comments and thoughts to this so please leave a comment and I'd love to hear back from you. What is it like for you to speak your truth? And don't forget I'll be back again tomorrow with another Five Minutes in Nature.

Reviews

Speaking with my voice has become easier the older I get. As a child I was told my voice was unimportant and I shouldn't have opinions that differed from my parents. My reasoning for any differing opinions was knocked back until it was easier not to say anything at all. I've had to learn as an adult that it's ok to have a voice and that it's ok if my voice is not the same as others. Learning too of my neurodivergence has helped give me confidence in understanding that my voice is quite likely to be different to others and the world is not right or wrong but a whole range of voices - like a choir needs the whole range of voices to sound great.

Thank you Liz! This is my theme in yoga class today so good serendipity! I think women in particular are natural people pleasers and hold back their true voice for fear of creating waves. I’m always so proud of those that speak out and, especially on social media, I often plan to in the heat of the moment, then I simmer down. As a Brit living in America I can get away with being myself but when it comes to strong feelings I try to remain more neutral. It is frustrating not being able to have a good debate but it’s just too divisive here right now. Meanwhile, it’s Spring and I argue with my husband when he wants to get the bushes “groomed” as I prefer them more natural 😆

Yes rewilding is great to see as communities realize the importance of it. Both with respect to the flora and fauna as well with how water is managed and absorbed back into the earth.

I volunteer at our Japanese Garden. We as a group care for the plants and surrounding areas. It is very peaceful and rewarding work. Especially when you hear feedback from visitors.

My authentic voice is one where I feel most like me when I am able to contribute. If I hold back or am not allowed to share that doesn't feel like me.

Thank you for sharing Liz and allowing us to contribute to your work. ✌️❤️😌

I’m getting better at understanding the signals, but the feelings: anxiety, shaking tension, a flush, these feelings often result in my shutting down or retreating into avoidance. I will look at them differently next time they come up for me.

Thank you, I have just recently started listening to your ‘five minutes’ and today, with a new start as a volunteer in a national trust garden, felt like a very good one for me to hear and reflect on. New people, who am I and can I be who I am?