Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me,
Liz Scott,
On a really glorious summer's day.
It's the evening,
We've had both sunshine and a cool wind that's come off the Atlantic,
So it's kept the temperatures at near perfect levels.
And here as I walk down this lane in the evening,
I'm just marvelling at the green on either side of me.
Everything is so lush.
And this is a day of reflecting on the importance of connection,
Connecting and building relationships with people.
You see,
One of the things I think is really helpful to realise is that we do not know what other people are going through.
We don't know what challenges people are going through,
Psychological or physical or health challenges.
We don't know if other people have got loved ones who are finding things difficult.
We really do not know what other people are going through.
And when you go past somebody and you say hello and you say,
How are you doing?
And they say,
Fine.
Well,
That word fine can mask a whole host of things.
We just do not know what's going on in somebody else's life.
So today is just a reminder that it's so important when you connect with other people,
When you bump into somebody,
When you see a friend,
When you see a stranger,
It's so important to reach out and connect with them,
To see them,
To see beyond their mask and to greet them beyond their mask and from behind your mask.
So you're really reaching out for that deeper connection,
That soul connection.
And that doesn't mean having a deep and meaningful conversation.
It means that you are there for them.
You are there for them and you see them.
You see them beyond the facade that they are displaying to the world.
And I was speaking to my sister today and she put this so beautifully.
She was just off to go and see some friends and she told me that this group of friends were really important to her.
It was really important for her to go down and have a cup of coffee with them.
And she said,
Because it wasn't so long ago that I went down and had a cup of coffee with them and they didn't realize I was going through a lot at the time,
A lot at home and I was finding things really difficult.
And it meant the world to me that these friends were there for me.
They didn't know what I was going through.
They didn't ask.
I didn't tell them,
But they were there for me and they accepted me and they didn't judge me and they welcomed me and I felt like I belonged in that group.
And that's what this is all about today,
Is just a reminder of being present to somebody else,
Welcoming them,
Being non-judgmental,
Connecting with them,
Offering that sense of friendship and belonging.
And it can be to a stranger.
It's just seeing somebody beyond the mask that they put on for the world.
So today's reflection is about recognizing that.
Recognizing that even in your everyday interactions,
When you walk down the street,
When you go into a shop,
When you see somebody in a car,
When you pass somebody on the street,
You do not know what they are going through.
And if you can be that person that smiles and sees them and connects with them,
That might mean the world.
So I just want to reiterate,
I'm not talking about having a really deep conversation or a therapeutic conversation with anybody.
Much of the time,
People don't really want to open up because they're processing something and they're going through something and they want to find their way themselves.
But as they go through that,
Being held emotionally by somebody else or being given the space to allow your emotions to be processed,
That is a very,
Very special thing.
So today,
Just remember when you go out and you see people,
See them,
Greet them,
Say hello,
Really see them beyond their mask.
And you just don't know,
You have no idea what impact you might be having on another person's life.
