Finding Solace in Nature - a personal journey during the Covid_19 Pandemic by Rachel Mathews-McKay

For as long as I can remember I have always found great solace and inspiration from the certainty, beauty and majesty of the natural world. Strange as it might sound some of my best childhood friends were loyal pets and imaginary characters I played with amongst the trees; tall grasses and wooded areas – some of these friends were even the trees themselves.

From my early beginnings and for a variety of reasons, I have had to move around a lot. Back and forth, contending with major upheavals and life-altering uncertainties. Years of disrupted routines, changing faces, places and spots to call home. My childhood world regularly felt like it was falling apart with every school change, house move and uproot of friendship circles and home comforts. Sometimes and for long periods that felt like years but, were only months I even had to rely on postcard correspondence and phone box calls to connect with my own parents. That kind of growing up has brought its challenges but thanks to my indomitable lust for life, the attentive care and loving support from a host of compassionate people I continue to find the pleasures and treasures in life, even when the chips have been down. However, I do occasionally find myself getting itchy for another move if I’ve been in one place for too long. So, you can imagine what’s been brewing internally as the weeks have become months in the throes of this dreadful global pandemic that has forced us all to stay put, stay local and put life as we knew it on hold.

As the reality and seriousness of Covid_19 set in my bubbling anxieties were wreaking havoc with my dependable steady resolve and my usual ability to sleep. But with a little time, patience and gentle naval gazing I realized it was all linked to past times when I had felt claustrophobically locked-in. Re-living moments throughout my childhood when I had struggled with painful decisions beyond my control and all the heartbreaking times I had survived when I couldn’t see, or turn to loved ones for comfort. So, I looked to how I coped then, what eased me through hard times before, what brought me joy, comfort and solace – and there it was nature in all its glory. Fresh air; falling rain; beating sun; flowing tide; whistling leaves and endless paths of road to tread. Luckily for me I live in a beauty spot surrounded by hills, seashore and tropical plant life warmed by the Gulf Stream flow and all within my 5km lockdown bubble.

When I look back and strip it right down it makes sense that I would feel comforted and grounded by the ever steadiness of the natural world and its cyclical rhythms.

Don’t get me wrong I love and miss the company of my wide circle of friends, colleagues and choral family and I look forward to widening my circle when it is safe again to do so. But it’s hard to be lonely when your most attentive confidante is a well rooted tree wide enough to wrap your arms around and willing to absorb falling tears, no questions asked. Life is all the better for the sweet blooms of every flower and the entertaining squabble of crumb hungry birds. And there is much security to be found in knowing that the rock mound you like to climb on a fine day has stood there throughout the ages, with no cause for change.

We will get through this in time. Hope will prevail and providing we act now climate change won’t destroy our beautiful, nurturing universe. Here’s to enjoying the earth beneath our feet and the skies overhead. 

Biography: Rachel Mathews-Mckay – mixed race of Irish, Jamaican, Bermudian and Canadian heritage but born in Bradford, West Yorkshire. She has been settled in Dublin, Ireland for the past 21 years where, since 2001 she has been a librarian in the prestigious University of Trinity College Dublin, an institute she proudly represents as a recently elected College Board member and Director. Rachel is a highly creative person who appears to use every hour possible for multiple interests including abstract oil painting and designing mixed media handmade greetings cards. She is currently Chairperson of Gloria LGBT+ Choir and sings as an alto, alongside her life partner Jane. A budding genealogist Rachel has been extensively researching her own and others' family tree’s for the past 12 years, enjoying the thrill of the DNA and research hunt. Travel and experiencing new cultures was always her number one passion – it still is but for the foreseeable future it is safely limited to watching documentaries, painting/embroidering inspirational landscapes and reminiscing through journaling all the adventures she has already been on.