Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott.
I'm not on Dartmoor.
Dartmoor is in the southwest of England.
I'm actually much further north,
Hundreds of miles north,
In a place called Kendal on the edge of the Lake District.
My husband and I are taking our camper van up to Scotland.
We're breaking up the journey overnight here in Kendal and then we'll finish off getting to Scotland to a place called North Berwick.
And I'm wandering around this gorgeous campsite.
It's in a wooded area,
The temperatures have been quite hot and everybody is under a tree and shade.
And when we sat down earlier,
We were sitting down and there was this loudest of bird song,
Which I identified as a wren.
And the wren is a tiny little bird with such a big song.
And I was hoping that maybe I could capture it singing when I was talking to you,
But I can only hear the crows tonight.
And you know,
What I want to talk about today is something that surprised me and it's all around thinking and thought.
Asking the question,
Like,
What would happen?
In your world.
Without the habitual thoughts that come and rule your life.
That's the question I'm asking myself today.
What would happen if some of these habitual thoughts that hold me back We're no longer there.
And the reason I'm reflecting on this is because I drove the camper van today nearly half the journey.
So I was driving for over two,
Three hours and we were on busy,
Busy roads heading up with a lot of other traffic to the north of England.
And we've had a camper van now for probably nearly 10 years.
And I haven't,
I've only driven it once and that one time I drove it,
I felt really nervous.
And I've kept telling myself that one day I was going to drive the van,
I was going to go and get some additional driving lessons so I would feel confident in the van,
But I've never done that.
And for some reason,
The idea of driving the van,
And it's not that big,
It's only six metres in length,
The idea of driving the van has been in the back of my mind.
And every time we get in the van to drive,
My husband says,
Do you want to drive or shall I?
And I'm always saying,
Oh,
No,
You can drive.
He always offers,
And I'm always happy that he drives.
But this time,
For some reason and it's inexplicable.
I had no thinking about driving and I just said to him,
Is it okay if I drive?
And he said,
Yeah,
Of course.
And I drove the journey without any thinking.
I wasn't nervous as a driver.
I was respectful and cautious on the roads,
As I always am.
But I wasn't nervous about the what-ifs and my mind filling with a jumble of thoughts.
There was quiet as I drove the van.
A few years back I would have had a dozen theories about what had happened.
And I know that all of the theories I might have come up with aren't right.
And I know that because I deeply understand that all that has happened is that somehow,
Somewhere,
Unbeknownst to me,
My thinking and thought around driving the van has dissolved.
It's like the mist being burnt off by the sun.
One minute it was there,
And then it was gone.
I did nothing to get rid of it.
I felt an absence of fear.
And with the absence of fear,
It just made sense to drive.
Now,
I'm talking about driving a camper van,
But I'm really curious about this whole question of what holds you back in life?
What might open up if Like my experience,
This fear and worry dissolved.
It's a question I'm asking myself,
Not to try and get rid of any thinking or thought,
But just a gentle curious noticing of how thought and thinking and habitual thoughts hold me back.
And I'm open and curious because I know that as I look within,
As I become peaceful and feel that peaceful space of ever-present awareness within me,
And as I look in that direction towards the essence of who I am,
I notice that thoughts and thinking dissolve.
And I'm curious about this ever-present awareness within me,
Which is the same as the ever-present awareness in you,
And the same as the ever-present awareness in everyone else.
As we become curious about it,
We find our lives enriched,
And we find ourselves more nourished.
That's what my life is all about.
So let me know what would open up for you if your thinking and fearful thoughts were to dissolve.
What would that be like?
Let me know your reflections and don't forget to join me again tomorrow for another five minutes in nature.
