Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.
Moshe Dayan
I am living through the third lockdown in a row in Ireland, since the beginning of the pandemic. It is needless to say that at this stage it just feels like a bad deja vu. What makes it especially hard is the 5 km range that we have had for months, denying many people access to nature, which is critical both for people’s physical and mental health. One of the recent weekends we took a long walk to Bull Island, a man-made island in Dublin bay with stunning dunes and a magnificent beach. We were even lucky enough to have sunshine, having in mind how unreliable the weather is in Ireland.
There is something very therapeutic in being in large open areas, especially near vast expanses of sea water. I only ever feel free when I am outdoors, in nature and these days freedom is something very valuable. We all need to find alternative ways to claim our freedom in order to keep our sense of mental wellbeing. Freedom is something very very precious, there is a reason they punish criminals by taking away their freedom. It is important to stay in tune with our needs and deep desires even in these strange times, we have to remain free in our minds and souls, whatever it takes.
Milena Penkova 