Be Here: What Nature Teaches Us About Presence

Explore with me what nature, especially an old cottonwood tree, can teach us about presence, awareness, and simply being here. Through storytelling, mindfulness reflections, and guided moments of stillness, listeners are invited to reconnect with just being, quiet distractions, and experience the peace and fullness that arise when we practice presence.

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash
Music purchased on Epidemic Sound

Transcript

Hello and welcome. The subject of this talk is Be Here, What Nature Teaches Us About Presence. Before we dive in, Let's just take a moment to arrive. There's nothing that you need to figure out right now. There's nothing that you need to solve. I just have a simple invitation for you, And that is, Be here. It sounds too simple to have any sort of impact on your life, Doesn't it? And yet, The more you practice it, The more you begin to realize how profound it is. So much has been written about presence and being, There are so many teachings and so many methods, And still it comes back to something very simple, At least for me, To actually practice it, To do it, And to remember to be here. I regularly walk along the same path, Almost every morning I did it, About an hour ago before recording this, And I walk past an old cottonwood tree. One day, Several years ago, Almost playfully, I asked it, How are you doing? I really wasn't expecting any sort of answer back, But in the moment, I felt like I heard something in my inner quiet voice that said, I am here. I walked a few more steps down the path, And it really landed for me that something had just happened, And it wasn't just that the tree had said, I am here, There was a question that followed that, And the question that arose was, Am I here? Since then, Just walking past that tree almost every day, It's become a place where I can check in, And at the first sight of the tree, There's the reminder to be here, Just like the old cottonwood tree, And then, Am I here? And this question has really stayed with me as I was writing this talk out. I even thought that maybe at one point, I might have it tattooed on my arms, Maybe on my left arm, Be here, And on my right arm, Am I here? Because I just want that constant reminder. I just think it's so powerful to just simply be here and to be. So, Speaking of reminders, We'll just do one little guided exercise here, And if you'd like, Just ask yourself, Am I here? And then, Just wait for an answer. The answer might not only come just as a thought, But as a felt sense, And as mindfulness teachers often say, Feel into it. Where in your body do you feel presence? If you can feel it, Simply remain aware of it for a moment. Am I here? Sort of the unfortunate truth is, And if you've been practicing presence for a while, I'm sure you can relate to this, Is that it's easy to lose that concentration or that attention to being here, And that's okay. I think that's part of the human experience, But it's something helpful to monitor. I think it was Alan Watts who encouraged us at the end of each day to check in with ourselves, And that's the thing he encouraged people to monitor was, How present were you during the day? And again, No guilt, No shame, There's no pressure, And I just think when it comes to And we often add that second arrow, We add the criticism of ourselves to it, So I just encourage you not to do that. Just gently have a look, Gently ask yourself, How aware am I throughout the day? We live in the age of distractions, Don't we? There are so many things pulling at our attention, And they're designed to be addictive, And we easily get hooked, Often in private moments. I'll confess, I have this ongoing battle with my phone at night, And I've taken to plugging it in in the other room so that I don't look at YouTube videos, Often spiritual videos, I will say, But that's sort of a rationalization, And I'll get hooked, And it'll keep me up way past what is healthy, I think, For me to get to sleep and then whatever other consequences there are with that. But anyways, We get hooked, Don't we? And often in our private moments, And I think the thing is that it impacts how we are with other people. We find it harder to be present. I'm sure you've been engaged in a conversation, Or maybe you've been tempted to even do it yourself, To look down at your phone while you're engaged in a conversation, And it's so distracting, Isn't it? It's distracting when someone looks at their phone as you're talking to them, And it's distracting for someone that you're speaking with as well when you or I do it. And for me, This is the great payoff for practicing presence privately. It helps us to be present publicly. I say this quite often, That one of my biggest regrets was not being more present to my children as they grew up. And I was practicing presence, But I don't know, I just have this wish that I had done better. I feel like I missed some moments, Some joy, And just the energy and the gift of my presence to them. And at the same time, I've experienced over and over again what a gift it is to just be present with someone. Not to fix, Not to impress, Not even to say the perfect thing, But to just be there. And I think that's what practicing presence privately helps us with. Again, I'm being quite self-referencing, But I don't know, I think it's okay. My recovery work has taught me that that's maybe the best way to go. And I notice this in myself. Even in conversations, There can be this subtle pressure to say something meaningful and something helpful, Which is great when you have it for sure. But sometimes, What's most helpful is just simply being present. And this is where nature's been a teacher for me. Think about it for a moment and see if you can connect with this. What a gift trees are. Have you ever noticed that? Not because they're doing something extraordinary, But simply because they are here. And I love that science has now proven that trees and the color green, They really do something for us. They activate different parts of our brain, And it has a very healthy impact. I am so fortunate. I get to walk on trails most days that are lined with trees. Right now, As I record this, It's May, And the trees have come back, And there's fresh green growth and wonderful smells, The buds of the flowers growing on the trees, The blossoms. And sometimes these trees even form tree tunnels. And when I slow down enough, And I have to remind myself to do this and really take it in, I notice that there's something happening. There again is the green, The movement of the leaves in the breeze, The sound of the birds that the trees provide shelter for, And just the steadiness and the stillness of it all. I have this felt sense that trees are offering something just by being. Trees aren't trying to be better trees. They're not comparing themselves. They're not rushing. They're just here. And in that, By just being what they are, They're giving so much. They give us oxygen. They give us shelter. They give us beauty. And like I said, There's other physiological gifts that they give to us that are beyond my pay grade, But there are some good books out there on what nature gives to us. And there's something perhaps less measurable, But in my mind just as real, And that is presence. When I'm open to it and I stop and really take it in, The bliss of it can almost feel overwhelming. And just from my recent reading and study, I just really believe that this bliss is a divine gift. There's a kind of fullness and wholeness and a deep joy that comes with taking it in. That said, I've had to learn to let it move through me, Receiving it and giving it away. Sometimes I'll even on my in-breath say the word thank, And on the out-breath you. Because it's a lot to receive, We could call this bliss and this connection many things. We could call it peace. I've already used the word connection. Maybe even love. It does feel like a form of unconditional love and generosity. There's also an acceptance in nature. Whether it's real or imagined, It sure feels like there's something going on. Nature doesn't ask anything of us. It doesn't measure us. It doesn't care what we're wearing. It doesn't care what we've done. It doesn't care what we haven't done. It just allows us to be here. It offers everything it has freely. And maybe the only thing it asks, If it asks anything at all, Is that you be present enough to receive it. To notice, To be here, As my ancient cottonwood tree seemingly said to me. And one of the things I found is that when I spend time in that kind of presence, It changes me. Not in a forced way, Not in a self-improvement way, But naturally. It teaches me to naturally be. And this peace, The openness, The awareness, It's like a muscle that we can strengthen. And then it begins to carry over into our conversations, Into moments of stress. And it helps us to be, To more easily return to just being. So maybe as we come to a close, Take a moment again to ask yourself, Am I here? I'll invite you to ask it one more time and just remind you to try not to answer it with your mind, But to simply notice. What does it feel like to be here? Right now, Ask yourself, Am I here? Take a few conscious breaths. Now be aware of your thoughts. Just be aware of them without analysis or judgment. Just simply be with your thoughts. And now with your body, Just be with the body, Be with your body and any sensations that might arise. And now take a moment to just be. As you move into the rest of your day, May you carry this presence and this sense of being with you. May you remember throughout your day to come back and to just be here. And to receive what's already being offered. Be present to presence as presence and awareness are already present in you. Namaste.