Challenging Times

Every now and then, a health scare hits us, our friends, a family member, or someone connected with us. Sometimes, the best form of support we need, or others need from us, is consistency, and for us or them, to just be there. Words aren’t always needed at such times, just that connection, that reliability, and that consistency that I mentioned before, is all that’s required.

So often we turn to nature, wildlife, the garden, and the green environment at these kinds of times. It’s different for all of us, and what a connection to nature means to us, is as individual as we are. The answer to that question is as varied and individual as the challenges and solutions we all face. What we turn to though, when we turn to nature, is that consistency, even if we don’t truly understand it.

A connection to nature could manifest in being in the physical presence of it, or psychologically, when we reminisce with the memories of being out there amongst nature.

I’m in the middle of one of those health scares as I write this, but I won’t list my ailments here. What I can say though, is for a while there, it was felt I could have had lung cancer, but after numerous explorations shall we say, it’s been narrowed down to lung disease, either caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis or Tuberculosis.

During the medical procedure, I visualised my favourite place in nature, to try and divert my thinking away from the doctor rooting around in my chest, whilst I was awake and she took the biopsy. After the procedure I’ve been regularly thinking about times spent in nature with loved ones, and as we reflect and reprioritise at times like these, I’ve noticed how thoughts of nature creeps in there.

During the Covid lockdowns we all reflected on what was important to us, and became more aware of how caring for and appreciating nature is. Collectively though maybe, we’ve slipped back to some old habits since then, and when fresh challenges arise, we are maybe only then reminded of the importance of nature?

So I propose we set up a new international day, a Remember Nature Day, with the subheading of, We Are Part Of It And Not Separate To It. It’s just a thought.

Anyway, enjoy the season, and remember to allow time to reflect now and then on what matters. Notice how an appreciation of nature increases in us at challenging times.

Happy Gardening

Stuart Mabbutt

Wildlife Gardening Specialist

01865 747243