Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott.
Can you hear the skylarks singing away above my head?
It's always hard to spot a skylark and I'm just scanning the sky now.
It's a very grey cloudy sky with a bit of rain in the air and I'm trying to see where that skylark is but I can't see it.
They're so tiny and elusive but they have such a big voice.
I love it and today is a reflection on love.
It's on connection and love.
Yesterday I was talking to a neighbour.
He was out on his bike and I was on my sort of regular little walk that I go on and taking my dog Buzz out for a walk as well and he stopped to say hello to Buzz.
He loves my elderly old dog and we just got chatting.
Now he's actually financially very successful.
He's got a big house,
He's got several cars,
They've got horses and land and yeah they're what would be deemed financially successful in life and yet as I talked to him and we talked together and we talked about what's important in life we realised between us something we already knew.
It all just boils down to love.
Love and connection and as he was talking to me and sharing how he just loves being with his family.
He loves that time with his family.
I realised that he didn't need a fancy house or lots of cars or a bank account full of money to experience that love and contentment that he feels from being with his family.
And one of the things I've been reflecting on following my pilgrimage is the delight I had in living a very simple life,
A life in a camper van.
I couldn't take much with me.
I couldn't take many clothes.
When I was walking all I could take was water and some dry clothes if in case it rained and my lunch.
And there was something so refreshing about it being simple.
When life is simple for me I find that a weight is taken off my shoulder and I realised as I spoke to this man that I don't crave financial riches.
I don't crave to get a different car,
A bigger car.
I realised like he realises that the most important thing is connection.
It's being with people you love.
It's experiencing love.
Here when I'm up on Dartmoor and I just I can turn around it's a big open landscape,
Very green at the moment with grass.
There are sheep around.
In fact I can see a white Dartmoor pony grazing just above me and it's contrasted against a dark green gorse bush with yellow flowers.
And I look at this and I feel full.
I feel content.
I don't know what else I would want in my life other than the opportunity to get out,
To be outdoors in nature,
Experiencing this extraordinary land.
I wouldn't want anything more than to be present with my dear darling husband who is such a support in my life and to be with my family and to take care of my mum who's very elderly at the moment.
You see it really does all boil down to love.
That's what it's all about.
And it's so tempting to get distracted,
For me anyway,
To get distracted thinking I need to do this and that and then I have time for love.
The opposite is true.
Love comes first.
As I stand in this landscape and feel love,
I realise that I am love.
The universal energy,
The God energy,
Is love.
And when we are with loved ones and people who we want to be around,
Or in nature,
Or in a place that just brings us comfort and joy,
We are able to experience our true nature.
And that true nature is love.
So today it's just about remembering that it's all about love.
There is nothing else.
And when it does feel tough,
And times get tough,
I want to remind myself in those moments just to look back within for love.
