As I look out my window, it’s absolutely tipping it down in the UK so not exactly the same scene as the picture above! Still, we had a good run with the weather, and the gardens need the rain.
I shared something on my Instagram feed this week, and wanted to share it in a nudge too.
Seeing things afresh
I’m very conscious how lucky I’ve been to have that feeling of space around me for daily walks.
It’s always possible to see things afresh, and never more so than when out in nature. That’s where I get most present, and where answers invariably come to me.
Not from trying to figure things out, or searching for answers in my “I know best” brain, but from getting quiet enough to listen to that space inside from which that feeling of just ‘knowing’ what to do next always emerges.
I love how the space outside reflects the quieter spaciousness inside that opens up when we have less on our mind.
You see things very differently when your mind is clearer … things you couldn’t see previously when caught up in your head.
Getting comfortable with the unknown
As the lock down rules are gradually being lifted, it seems more important to me than ever to get more comfortable with living in the unknown. No one could have predicted the immense changes we’ve seen in recent months, nor how things are going to play out now. And yet people have shown how quickly they can adapt and rise to the occasion.
I’ve come to see that that resilience is far more accessible from a quieter mind.
We’re either in our thinking about ourselves or our lives, or we’re in our life. And when we are more willing to just being in life, open to what shows up for us, we leave more headspace for fresh thought to flow in and guide us.
Fresh thought has a different feeling, and is so much nicer than regurgitating, or ruminating, on old, stagnant thoughts!
I think especially in challenging times we’re so conditioned to want to have it all figured out, afraid of what will happen if something goes wrong, or because we have a need to feel safe. Something about control, and yet recent events have blown that out the water, and even the thought that there’s a right or wrong way, is just more thinking!
Seeing that fresh thought is always available to us has meant it makes no sense to me to keep delving into the old database, or memory bank … that just tends to keep us stuck in worrisome or insecure thinking, and takes us further away from possible answers.
Simpler way
These days I see that there’s a simpler way, and that when my thinking starts to get stirred up, it makes less sense to hang out there, and rather leave it alone. I trust that as my mind naturally quietens down, something will come to me in real time, and often when I’m more present, living in the moment versus up in my head!
I know that might sound way too simple, but I’ve come to see that’s just how we naturally work. In that space between thoughts, there is a real time, creative, intelligence that’s always available, bringing us fresh, as yet, unknown answers, and the more I trust in that the easier and less stressful life gets.
Invitation to Live Zoom Webinar
Fresh Thought versus Stagnant Thinking …
Tuesday 16 June
at 6.30-7.30pm UK time
Getting more comfortable with the unknown is just one of the things we’ve been talking about in the live webinars I’ve been hosting every couple of weeks. It’s been so lovely to see how just a simple shift in understanding, and a new relationship with our thoughts can make the world of difference, especially in the current, challenging times. If you’d like to join us, do just let me know here and I’ll send you the link. And don’t worry, you don’t have to speak if you’d rather not, or even have your video on … you’re welcome to just listen in.
“Thank you so much for sharing your insights .. being part of the webinar was brilliant. There is so much information out there at the moment, and it felt really nice to be chatting and learning from a small group of all kinds of lovely people. What I want to say is, I find it big time beneficial to be able to express individually with a friendly group. Thank you so much you are doing a lovely thing!” (DB, Cape Town)