On Nature’s Governing Rule.

Written by Coach Chris

Published: 14/11/2023

Welcome back to Conversations with Mother Nature.

I wanted to add a little bonus episode for you today, to give you a principle of health that we’ve yet to mention. 

This is one of my absolute favourite rules from Mother Nature, because it takes all the pressure off knowing precisely how to find health and wellbeing. 

In fact, this principle alone can unlock physical mental wellbeing in every part of your life. 

It’s so important that we’ve called it The Governing Rule, and you’ll find we’ll come back to it again and again in our conversations.  

So what rule could be so important that we would dedicate an entire episode to it? 

Let’s find out shall we…

Chris: Welcome back to the show Mother Nature. 

Mother Nature: It’s a pleasure to be here, Chris.

Chris: So last week you shared with us your five rules for health and wellbeing. 

Live slowly and sleep deeply, as if at the pace of Nature. 

Eat from Nature’s plate. Fruits. vegetables. nuts. seeds. animals and fish etcetera.

Exercise as if living in Nature – Walk lots, run a little and lift heavy things often (that goes for men and women in equal measure).

Socialise Naturally. In the physical company of others. 

And be kind to yourself. You’re perfect just the way you made us. 

I’d planned today to go through these rules, but I’m not sure where to start.  Even as simple as they are, I feel overwhelmed by them in some way.

How can something so simple feel so overwhelming to me?   

Mother Nature: Well maybe that’s because I didn’t share with you the Governing Rule.  

Chris: The Governing Rule? What’s that?

Mother Nature: Well it’s the single rule that you should try to apply to everything you do in your life. 

By the way, this rule is not just about health, which is why we didn’t mention it last week. This rule applies to work, education, relationships, travel and anything else you can imagine. Even arguments or politics. 

Chris: Wow! This sounds like it’s going to be a complex rule! I’m ready. Hit me with it?

Mother Nature: Playful Curiosity. 

Chris: That’s the rule?

Mother Nature: Yes. 

Chris: Okay, I’m hooked. Reel me in because I’m ot sure how Playful Curiosity helps with anything?

Mother Nature: Answer me this, Chris. When you see my five simple rules for health, are you expecting to live by them perfectly, all the time, and right away? 

Chris: Huh! Yeah, you got me. I guess I feel overwhelmed for that very reason. 

Like the rules are there, so I mustn’t break them. 

Actually, in many ways I’d rather pretend I don’t know them so I can’t get them wrong! 

Mother Nature: Exactly. Humans are the only organism that thinks in right or wrong.

Try to think of my five rules as guidelines more than anything. Guidelines you should have fun with.  

Chris: How so?

Mother Nature: Say you want to improve your health and you think of guideline one – Live slowly and sleep deeply. 

As you think of it you quickly realise that life is far from slow. Maybe you can’t even think of the last time you slept deeply. 

Rather than beat yourself up, or feel overwhelmed with trying to change your life immediately, apply the governing rule instead. 

Bring a sense of Playful Curiosity to how fast your life is, or how lightly you sleep. 

Chris: Are you saying we take getting our health right too seriously?

Mother Nature: Yes. Let me ask you this, Chris. Do you think I know how to create the perfect Universe? 

Chris: Um, yes?

Mother Nature: The answer is NO, Chris.  I just see a niche that needs to be filled and I try to fill it. I take hundreds, even thousands of attempts at it. Each one failing, until one finally succeeds. 

I’m not overwhelmed by the task. I just bring a sense of curiosity to experimenting, and play with lots of options until I find what works. 

Chris: So you bring a sense of Playful Curiosity to your work, making lots of mistakes as you go  ? It just doesn’t seem that way from where we stand.

Mother Nature: Well you only see the end result. It’s the same as looking at someone with the health and wellbeing you desire. You see their end result. Not their struggles and experiments. Or even that they are still in the midst of their failures. 

Chris: Sure. Life is rarely like instagram portrays it. 

So how specifically can I bring Playful Curiosity to the Five Rules – Sorry – Guidelines you gave us last week, so I can apply them in my life?

Mother Nature: That’s a great question, Chris.

Start by picking a part of your health you wish to improve. Let’s say it’s Stress you want to manage better. 

Look through the five guidelines and pick one you’re curious about. For example, you might be curious about the first guideline again – live slowly and sleep deeply. This guideline alone can profoundly change stress. 

Now simply become curious. Ask yourself questions, like. How fast paced is your life? Where might you be able to slow down? Is there a moment you can just take a deep breath? 

There are all sorts of questions you could ask to spark your curiosity about your stress. 

After that the job is to go play with some changes, with absolutely no expectations of the outcome. Just more playful curiosity. 

Again, you can ask yourself. What happened when you made the change? What does that tell you about yourself? Is there another experiment you could do? 

Just keep playing. Eventually you’ll learn the unique combination that allows you to slow down enough to ease your stress.

Chris: That’s beautifully simple, Mother Nature. You could apply the governing rule of Playful Curiosity to anything in your life, couldn’t you. 

If we stop trying to control the outcome, and just be curious about the process of getting to the outcome, stress releases its grip on you. 

Mother Nature: That it does, Chris. 

Chris: Okay. Let me summarise this quickly. 

Changing health can feel overwhelming. Even having five simple guidelines that guarantee health can feel overwhelming. 

The reason it’s so overwhelming is that we put pressure on ourselves by thinking in terms of ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’. 

But there is no right or wrong way to go about health. The five guidelines are just there to help you get there easier. 

If you feel overwhelmed by health change, remember the Governing Rule – Playful Curiosity. 

Simply get ‘Curious’ about the aspect of health you wish to change and then ‘Play’ with lots of solutions. Eventually you’ll find the one that works for you. 

That’s how Mother Nature filled every niche imaginable in an infinitely complex universe. Just playfully exploring her curiosities until she stumbled on the solution. 

Mother Nature: Excellent work Chris. 

Chris: Thank you so much Mother Nature. This has been an unexpectedly simple solution to what I thought would be overwhelmingly complicated. 

I feel ready to dive in and explore your five guidelines now. 

Mother Nature: You’re welcome Chris. But we’ll have to save that for next time. I have an overwhelmingly large universe to tinker with after all. 

Chris: So you do. I’m looking forward to it already. 

I realise much of what we’ll be talking about in this podcast will feel overwhelming at times.

There’s an irony in it somehow. We’re overwhelmed and confused about health, yet in simplifying it we feel overwhelmed and confused in a whole new way!

That’s why I wanted to put this governing rule into the mix as early as possible. 

Let’s all stop beating ourselves up. Let’s not worry about doing ‘health’ right or wrong. 

Everything. And I really mean EVERYTHING in nature was created in a process of iteration. Or, more simply, a process of playful curiosity by the Universe, tweaking and adapting to mistake after mistake until perfection arises. 

So from now on, listen to our conversations with a sense of curiosity, and go play with what you learn. 

Thanks for listening and remember, 

Great health emerges naturally, when you allow Mother Nature to guide you.

Want To Improve Your Health & Wellbeing?

Developing a deep sense of Health and Wellbeing in your life is not a complicated process, when you have good guidance. 

If you want to learn how, or get personal health coaching, then come join our free community. . . 

Author

Picture of Coach Chris

Coach Chris

Chris is the founder of Rest Up & Keep Moving and is incredibly passionate about his work. His vision is to see people opening up about the ways in which they feel burnt out and help them rebuild their physical and mental energy.