Episode 93
Embrace Nature’s Wisdom: Overcoming Stress, Anxiety, and Consumption
Introduction: In this episode, Steven Webb explores the concept of consumption in our modern world and how it often leads to stress and anxiety. Drawing wisdom from nature and Zen teachings, he discusses the importance of consuming less and embracing the idea that we are enough just as we are.
Album: Jack Savoretti - Between The Minds
Call to Action: Support the show or download Steven's "5 Simple Practices for Inner Peace" at thankyousteven.com. Also, please leave a review. Your feedback is deeply appreciated and helps us improve the show.
Timestamps:
- [00:00:00] Introduction
- [00:03:57] Discussion on the concept of consumption and its impact on our lives
- [00:08:22] The importance of letting go of control and embracing the idea of being enough
- [00:09:12] The story of the Zen Master and the overflowing cup
- [00:12:39] A brief meditation practice to connect with our better nature
- [00:16:51] Conclusion and final thoughts
Key Points:
- Consumption, especially in our modern world, often leads to stress and anxiety.
- Embracing the idea that we are enough just as we are can lead to a more peaceful life.
- The story of the Zen Master and the overflowing cup illustrates the importance of emptying ourselves of preconceived notions and constant consumption.
Quotes:
- "Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone. So too is our lives. Sometimes they become a little clearer, they become a little more peaceful when we reduce the noise and just reducing that constant consumption." - Steven Webb
- "You are enough. You have enough. Then fine, we're going to consume more. But just in each given moment, just take a step back and enjoy what we have in each moment." - Steven Webb
Contact Information: Visit stevenwebb.com to get in touch.
Credits: Hosted by Steven Webb
Additional Podcast: Check out Steven's other podcast, Inner Peace Meditations, at InnerPeaceMeditations.com.
Transcript
Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.
Steven Webb:One of my favorite quotes of all time, Alan Watts.
Steven Webb:So on today's podcast, we're talking about embracing nature's
Steven Webb:wisdom, overcoming stress, anxiety, and consuming less.
Steven Webb:One of those things that I'm trying to learn to do, and I think the
Steven Webb:world as a whole needs to do that.
Steven Webb:However, before we get there, for the last like two weeks, I've been
Steven Webb:working really hard on sorting out my website, sorting out the
Steven Webb:stillness in the Storms website, the Inner Peace Meditations website,
Steven Webb:and bringing them all together.
Steven Webb:So all of my podcasts and all of my things are more easily accessible,
Steven Webb:and I had to update the link in every single one of my podcast.
Steven Webb:And.
Steven Webb:I often think that I'm not delivering, I'm not doing a very good job, and
Steven Webb:I miss weeks and things like that.
Steven Webb:And I think I'm doing a terrible, terrible job.
Steven Webb:And I was going through them last night and I've done 92 of
Steven Webb:them, and I was going through, I was thinking, Hey, some of
Steven Webb:these aren't bad actually, some of these are pretty good.
Steven Webb:And going, just going through the titles and things like that.
Steven Webb:Boy, it took the, I was listening to one of my favorite albums,
Steven Webb:Jack Savoretti and I went through the whole album, which
Steven Webb:is a brilliant album, by the way.
Steven Webb:I'll put the album title in the show notes.
Steven Webb:One of my favorite all time albums.
Steven Webb:It really is, it's one of those albums that you just return
Steven Webb:to again and again and again.
Steven Webb:And I put on the album and it took the whole album for me
Steven Webb:to just go and copy and paste.
Steven Webb:, I was really hating the job at the beginning, but by the
Steven Webb:end I was loving doing it.
Steven Webb:It's one of those things that you just don't wanna do, and I thought,
Steven Webb:I'll tell you what, I'll be really productive and I'll just do 10 each
Steven Webb:day for the next 10 days or so.
Steven Webb:But I got into it after about doing 40.
Steven Webb:I was like, I'm really not liking this.
Steven Webb:And then 50, I was like, okay, I'll keep going 60, I'll keep going.
Steven Webb:And by the end I was like, this has really given me some clarity.
Steven Webb:And it made me, it was almost like I needed to see what I had achieved.
Steven Webb:And I think how often do we really go back and look at what we've achieved?
Steven Webb:I might do a podcast on that.
Steven Webb:That'd be a good idea, but I wanna say thank you to many of
Steven Webb:you that have bought me a coffee, although I've changed it slightly.
Steven Webb:I'm always changing things.
Steven Webb:Us humans, they're always doing that, aren't we?
Steven Webb:So I've changed it to virtual hugs.
Steven Webb:I don't really drink a lot of coffee, so it didn't make sense to me.
Steven Webb:Buy me a coffee, buy me a coffee and treat me to a coffee.
Steven Webb:So I've changed it at virtual hugs.
Steven Webb:So I wanna say thank you to Lucy and Carol, and Dawn, Sarah Sanger, gin,
Steven Webb:and someone, someone, and v all of you for treating me to a virtual hug.
Steven Webb:You guys, massive big hug.
Steven Webb:I hope you can feed it.
Steven Webb:I'm like squeezing you tight right now.
Steven Webb:You can feel my arms around you.
Steven Webb:Thank you guys.
Steven Webb:It really makes a difference.
Steven Webb:My podcast has just gone to another level, so I, it does cost
Steven Webb:a lot more now to host it and all that, but that's good news.
Steven Webb:That's wonderful news because more and more people are, listen into it.
Steven Webb:More and more people are getting benefits from it.
Steven Webb:And I get emails, people that I really make sense and I'm not sure
Steven Webb:I make sense in my head, but I'm just getting my thoughts out there
Steven Webb:and if it makes sense to you.
Steven Webb:Brilliant.
Steven Webb:That's awesome.
Steven Webb:So.
Steven Webb:I've sorted the website, so I've told you about that.
Steven Webb:I've told you about my virtual hugs.
Steven Webb:I'm just going through some of my show notes a minute, and now I'm
Steven Webb:gonna get on with today's podcast.
Steven Webb:It's about consuming less, just learning from nature really.
Steven Webb:So let's go through to today's podcast.
Steven Webb:So in our modern world, consumption is often seen as a necessity.
Steven Webb:We consume food, we consume material, goods, information, even nature.
Steven Webb:We're consuming.
Steven Webb:And I'm f I'm finding my time now, literally when I'm reading and
Steven Webb:YouTube and I'm just like, I want it.
Steven Webb:Oh, I want more and more and more.
Steven Webb:I want to learn more.
Steven Webb:I'm learning to speak Cornish at the moment.
Steven Webb:I'm learning.
Steven Webb:The Cornish history, and I just want more and more of it.
Steven Webb:But where do we strike a balance?
Steven Webb:Am I becoming more stressful because I'm trying to get more and more?
Steven Webb:and but this constant cycle of consumption, it brings about
Steven Webb:so much stress and anxiety.
Steven Webb:And as the philosopher Alan Wa once said, muddy water is best
Steven Webb:cleared by leaving it alone.
Steven Webb:So two is our lives.
Steven Webb:Sometimes they become a little clearer.
Steven Webb:They become a little more peaceful when we reduce the noise and just
Steven Webb:reducing that constant consumption.
Steven Webb:And you I love this analogy of the muddy water.
Steven Webb:The simple fact, you imagine a great big pond and you imagine we're just
Steven Webb:throwing stuff in it all the time.
Steven Webb:How about we just let it settle what we know now, the knowledge
Steven Webb:that we know, the wisdom we got, the food is in our belly.
Steven Webb:Everything in our, just, just for a moment, just go, that's enough.
Steven Webb:What if we have everything in this moment?
Steven Webb:What if it's just enough?
Steven Webb:A wonderful thought.
Steven Webb:And beneath the surface of this hectic consumption, below all our stresses
Steven Webb:and anxieties and fears, there lies a deeper truth, a more profound,
Steven Webb:peaceful reality, often referred to in Buddhism as Budd Nature.
Steven Webb:This is our true self.
Steven Webb:And unclouded by worldly distractions and illusions.
Steven Webb:It's a sense of being just enough just as we are just in this moment.
Steven Webb:Oh, what relief doesn't it just like, oh, I don't have to do anything.
Steven Webb:I can just be now here.
Steven Webb:I don't have to consume anything.
Steven Webb:I don't have to push back on anything.
Steven Webb:Oh, you just wanna take a deep breath and just let it all out, don't you?
Steven Webb:That's just that huge sigh of relief.
Steven Webb:You know, nature provides us with countless examples of living in
Steven Webb:harmony without need to constant consumption is an ageless
Steven Webb:wisdom that we often forget.
Steven Webb:You know, just look, look at the parable of the Chinese farmer.
Steven Webb:That's one of my favorite ones.
Steven Webb:I'm just gonna have to look it up a minute because I kind of know it,
Steven Webb:but I, I kind of often forget it.
Steven Webb:The Chinese farmer, this is the famous zen story often
Steven Webb:recounted, and a Chinese farmer had a horse that ran away.
Steven Webb:And when his neighbors learned of it, they came to the
Steven Webb:farmer saying Such bad luck.
Steven Webb:The farmer replied, maybe the next day the horse returned
Steven Webb:with three wild horses.
Steven Webb:How wonderful the neighbors explained.
Steven Webb:Maybe the farmer applied the following day.
Steven Webb:The farmer's son tried to ride one of the wild horses.
Steven Webb:He was thrown off and he broke his leg.
Steven Webb:The neighbors, once again came, came to offer their
Steven Webb:sympathy for the farmer's.
Steven Webb:Misfortune maybe answered the farmer.
Steven Webb:A day after the military officials came to the village and drafted
Steven Webb:the young men into the army, seeing that the son's leg has
Steven Webb:been broken, they pass him by.
Steven Webb:Neighbors congratulated the farmer and on his good luck this time.
Steven Webb:But the farmer said maybe, and the lesson here is, you know,
Steven Webb:you don't know what is in store.
Steven Webb:You know, I don't know whether breaking my neck
Steven Webb:was a good or a bad thing.
Steven Webb:I don't know whether, you know, being stuck in that traffic
Steven Webb:jam is a good or a bad thing.
Steven Webb:It might have saved me from an accident.
Steven Webb:It might made me late for my appointment.
Steven Webb:Who knows?
Steven Webb:And I think when we have a slightly more balanced view on
Steven Webb:it, it's just like, oh, we can just relax a little stop rigidly
Steven Webb:trying to control everything.
Steven Webb:Does that make any sense?
Steven Webb:Just just that controlling a little bit less makes
Steven Webb:things just so much easier.
Steven Webb:I have a genuine belief that we do have everything
Steven Webb:inside of us that we need.
Steven Webb:Was it Marcus Aurelius?
Steven Webb:Very little is needed to make a happy life.
Steven Webb:It is all within yourself in a way of think, in your way of thinking.
Steven Webb:Very little is needed to make people happy.
Steven Webb:It's all within yourself.
Steven Webb:Okay.
Steven Webb:I butchered that.
Steven Webb:You, you know what I mean?
Steven Webb:You know, this perspective coupled with consuming less leads to
Steven Webb:a simpler, more peaceful life.
Steven Webb:You know, just another end story.
Steven Webb:The empty cup and teaches the same lesson.
Steven Webb:We must empty ourselves of preconceived notions and.
Steven Webb:And the story goes.
Steven Webb:A university professor went to visit Zen Master while the Zen
Steven Webb:Master quietly served his tea.
Steven Webb:The professor talked about zen.
Steven Webb:The master poured the visitors' cup to the brim and then kept pouring.
Steven Webb:The professor watched him overflowing the cup until he could no longer
Steven Webb:restrain himself, and he looked up and goes, the cup is full.
Steven Webb:No more would go in the professor blurted, you are like this cup.
Steven Webb:The master replied, how can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup.
Steven Webb:And it's just a really good illustration of we, we go around with
Steven Webb:such a full cup, such a full mind, such a full everything we need and
Steven Webb:we are just trying to consume more.
Steven Webb:I was watching the TV program last night on tv, and they went
Steven Webb:into this house and they emptied the house and they put it into
Steven Webb:this huge hangar and they put it all in item order, color order.
Steven Webb:Ah, it's OCD person's dream.
Steven Webb:This is, I love seeing it all laid out that this, I just want
Steven Webb:my house laid out like that.
Steven Webb:I don't wanna put it back in the house.
Steven Webb:I just want all my socks laid out in color and size that's a dream for me.
Steven Webb:I'm learning to not battle that because not all my carers and
Steven Webb:not everybody I have look after me has the same o c D as me,
Steven Webb:so I'm learning to let that go.
Steven Webb:It's taken a long time, but yeah, I, when I grew up, I used to
Steven Webb:have all my tapes in color order.
Steven Webb:I used to have all my CDs numbered in colored order, which was great
Steven Webb:till I bought a new one and I had to take all the little stickers
Steven Webb:off and put them all in there.
Steven Webb:And yeah, if you look at my house now, you would think, I don't have
Steven Webb:O C D, but I, I think we all do.
Steven Webb:We like order, don't we?
Steven Webb:Because order makes us feel comfortable.
Steven Webb:It makes us feel that we're in control of things if we
Steven Webb:have some kind of order.
Steven Webb:And I think this is where we like to, we choose what to consume, we choose
Steven Webb:what to put in the cup, but very often we're at the point now where,
Steven Webb:Society's filling our cup for us.
Steven Webb:Society's bombarded us with everything.
Steven Webb:You must learn this.
Steven Webb:You must consume this, you must try this, you must have this.
Steven Webb:And it's just and I'm doing the same again.
Steven Webb:I'm filling your cup again with my thoughts and my beliefs.
Steven Webb:And you know what you need to do?
Steven Webb:You need to empty more.
Steven Webb:You need to do this.
Steven Webb:Oh, the irony.
Steven Webb:The, I the irony is not lost on me, and I hope it's not lost on you.
Steven Webb:Just, yeah.
Steven Webb:Turn off his podcast and just be, but the problem is
Steven Webb:we won't, we don't do it.
Steven Webb:I, you, the, the best thing is like meditation practices.
Steven Webb:Just taking out a little moment here and there.
Steven Webb:You know, let's do, let's do a little meditation practice right now.
Steven Webb:I just warn you, if you're driving along in a car and all
Steven Webb:that, do it, but don't close your eyes or anything like that
Steven Webb:and just, just take a breather.
Steven Webb:Let's connect with a better nature to feel a sense of being enough.
Steven Webb:And as you breathe in, just settle your mind.
Steven Webb:I say settle your mind.
Steven Webb:I mean, allow your mind to settle.
Steven Webb:And as you breathe out, let go of anything you need to
Steven Webb:consume, any stress or anxiety,
Steven Webb:and you could repeat the mantra in your head.
Steven Webb:I am enough.
Steven Webb:I am enough.
Steven Webb:I am at peace with myself and nature.
Steven Webb:And see how quickly we can go from consuming to I am enough.
Steven Webb:I have enough.
Steven Webb:I am at peace with myself and nature.
Steven Webb:What a wonderful calmness.
Steven Webb:And we could do that anywhere.
Steven Webb:We could do it any time.
Steven Webb:Just keep your eyes open if you're doing something
Steven Webb:that needs your attention.
Steven Webb:I'm not suggesting that, you know, you go into a meditation state,
Steven Webb:and that's a really important point actually, because we often see
Steven Webb:meditation as you know, chilling out, finding a nice quiet area
Steven Webb:where you won't be disturbed.
Steven Webb:That's not real Meditation.
Steven Webb:Real meditation is when you're amongst people, when, when you've got negative
Steven Webb:people around you, when the world is going to pots, how can you stay in
Steven Webb:that meditative state at that point?
Steven Webb:How can you stay just above the true self?
Steven Webb:And this is the point just above.
Steven Webb:If you are the true self, nothing's gonna phase you, but you wanna
Steven Webb:be just above just where the compassion and the wisdom is.
Steven Webb:Where the material wisdom of the self starts to form an ego, but
Steven Webb:before the ego starts to consume more and want more, and have
Steven Webb:that ego, ego ness about it.
Steven Webb:Before that, you want to stay at that point where you're just a wise self.
Steven Webb:We've all seen that as Zen Masters at the end of the bar when there's
Steven Webb:that big bar fight going on, and they're probably not Zen masters.
Steven Webb:They're part, they're part of the movies, aren't they?
Steven Webb:They're told to act like this, but you've got that wise wisdom at the
Steven Webb:end of the bar and he's had drinking and everybody else is fighting.
Steven Webb:And right at the end he just stands up, gives the
Steven Webb:bowman a tip, and walks out.
Steven Webb:You want to be that calm person.
Steven Webb:Didn't get involved.
Steven Webb:He had enough.
Steven Webb:He enjoyed his drink.
Steven Webb:So yeah, that's today's podcast.
Steven Webb:Just, you know, enough's enough.
Steven Webb:Stop consuming for a moment.
Steven Webb:Stop doing, just take a breather.
Steven Webb:Just have this moment.
Steven Webb:And I started this podcast by telling you all the stuff I've
Steven Webb:been doing because we feel like we gotta get somewhere.
Steven Webb:My mind's just reminded me, you've got your new seat.
Steven Webb:It arrived today.
Steven Webb:It's been three months in the making.
Steven Webb:They lost it once.
Steven Webb:It come from Germany.
Steven Webb:Gotta get that put on at the weekend.
Steven Webb:Gotta do this.
Steven Webb:Don't the mind just, okay.
Steven Webb:I know.
Steven Webb:Thank you for the reminder.
Steven Webb:I've got this,
Steven Webb:so I'm going to leave you with the thought.
Steven Webb:You know, you are enough.
Steven Webb:You have enough.
Steven Webb:Then fine, we're going to consume more.
Steven Webb:But just in each given moment, just take a step back and enjoy
Steven Webb:what we have in each moment.
Steven Webb:And the more we do that, the more we go back to that moment, the more
Steven Webb:you'll find the happiness that you're searching for, the joy, the genuine
Steven Webb:nourishment, the genuine fulfillment that you'll find is already there.
Steven Webb:It's already right here.
Steven Webb:You cannot want to be happy and be happy.
Steven Webb:The fact that you go, I want to be happy means you're already unhappy.
Steven Webb:You've already missed the mark.
Steven Webb:You cannot have two ways.
Steven Webb:We already are in a state of happiness.
Steven Webb:We're already in a state of enough.
Steven Webb:We already have everything in this moment.
Steven Webb:And just take a deep breath on that thought.
Steven Webb:You know, this is a pretty deep journey.
Steven Webb:You know, if you've come along in this podcast with me a little bit,
Steven Webb:exploring the idea of reducing consumption to find our true selves,
Steven Webb:that'll help us to overcome stress and anxiety, and you can always head
Steven Webb:over to Inner Peace of Meditations, my other podcast that'll help
Steven Webb:you to reduce some of the stress and anxiety, always plugging.
Steven Webb:Always more always is.
Steven Webb:That's why.
Steven Webb:That's what life is, isn't it?
Steven Webb:It's a real difficult thing, but I'm gonna leave you with Zen Master Banky,
Steven Webb:not sure if I pronounce that right.
Steven Webb:Abiding with the unperturbed mind is the same as the peace
Steven Webb:and bliss of the Buddhas.
Steven Webb:Let's all strive to live with this unbe mind consuming less,
Steven Webb:embracing our own better nature.
Steven Webb:Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the virtual hugs.
Steven Webb:You guys are absolutely awesome.
Steven Webb:Hope you can feel some of my love for you and love for all of you.
Steven Webb:I hope you apply some of these insights and I hope
Steven Webb:you find some stillness.
Steven Webb:That's all we need to do.
Steven Webb:Find those little bits and moments of stillness.
Steven Webb:Remember, you are enough, and in there there's a deep
Steven Webb:wisdom waiting to be embraced.
Steven Webb:Until next time, stay still, stay present and stay strong.
Steven Webb:you can head over to.
Steven Webb:thankyousteven.com to download the five simple practices and join
Steven Webb:my Inner Peace newsletter that I'm organizing myself to actually
Steven Webb:start sending every week rather than about every three weeks.
Steven Webb:Take care.
Steven Webb:Love you guys.
