Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me Liz Scott.
It's a cold,
Cold night.
There's a bright moon shining.
I'm standing outside my mum's house.
Very damp cold in the air.
Can't wait to get inside.
It's always warm inside my mum's house and I really enjoy the warmth of stepping in the house when it's cold.
Usually it's too hot for me inside,
But today I'm looking forward to enjoying that warmth.
And I thought I would share with you three things that I've seen today and have been little lessons throughout the day.
They're not particularly related,
But I like it sometimes when the day teaches me things and gives me things to ponder on.
And they're kind of small,
But important for me.
So one is around slowing down.
One is around inspiration.
And the third is around chilling out.
So let's start with slowing down.
This morning when I got up,
It's dark and I go for a regular walk when I'm at mum's down along the River Ex and up into the city centre for a cup of coffee.
And this morning when I started walking,
It was dark.
It normally is dark at this time of year.
And as I was just starting out,
I put my foot on what looked like a bit of a puddle.
There'd been a bit of drizzle just before I set out,
But actually it was a patch of black ice.
The water,
The rain,
The sort of misty precipitation had covered the roads and the pavements with dampness.
So you couldn't see the ice,
But all that happened is you put your foot on it and you'd slip.
So I sort of wobbled a little bit on this black ice and immediately slowed down.
As I was going further along my walk,
I just made sure I kept going at a steady,
Slow pace so that if I were to trip or fall or slide,
Hopefully I'd be able to right myself in time.
I did sort of slip a little bit on a couple of occasions,
But I did manage to to right myself.
And you know,
That black ice is useful.
It's a useful reminder to slow down and it's a useful reminder as well that sometimes life just throws up challenges that seem to come out of the blue and you've just got to slow down in life as you navigate through those challenges.
So that was the first thing.
The second thing is around inspiration.
Now my mum is elderly,
She really struggles with mobility.
She needs a frame to walk around the house and she's slowly losing or being lost to dementia and she's always slowly fading away.
My dear,
Dear mum,
She still is able to converse and talk and recognise who I am,
But she is getting very elderly and very frail.
And this evening,
Just before I went out for a walk,
I was feeling so snuggy warm in the house.
I was like,
I don't really want to go out for another walk.
And I heard the front door open and close and my mother was taking a walk around her house.
So she does this.
She just keeps going out,
Takes her frame with her.
It's a walker with wheels that she can push to keep her upright.
And she took herself around the house despite it being cold and despite her not having good mobility.
And I thought,
Crikey,
If my mum can do that,
I can do that.
I can go out for a walk.
So bless her,
My mum inspired me to go out walking.
So that was the second thing I learned today is just taking inspiration wherever it comes.
And the third thing was a delicious day of actually not doing a lot.
I actually have been re-watching a costume drama that I love to watch.
It's an old favourite and I just watch it time and time again.
And it just today felt like the day to indulge in that.
And I can't explain why.
Usually I'm zipping around,
Cleaning and tidying up and doing lots of jobs.
But today,
Today was a day of watching a costume drama.
So the third thing I learned from today is that,
Do you know what,
It's okay to have days like that.
Days when my energy feels low and I just want to wallow in something easy and comfortable.
So those are the three things I've learned today.
Firstly,
When it's icy in life and in real life,
But metaphorically when it's icy in my life,
It's just slowed down.
And just remember sometimes challenges are unexpected,
A bit like the black ice.
Secondly,
Just find moments to be inspired by people around me,
Even unexpectedly.
Inspiration comes from unexpected places.
And thirdly,
Do you know what,
It's absolutely fine to have days where you have low energy and you just want to wallow in comfort watching or comfort reading.
And certainly that's what I did today.
So today is just about what the day has taught me.
And I wonder if any of those things resonate for you.
