Rachel Beck is working her way towards her sophomore album, and amongst the singles that trickled out we find a particular theme emerging: a message of strength, and beauty, and resilience. In the case of “Stronger Than You Know,” the album’s title track, Beck finds inspiration in the enduring, malleable nature of forests, offering “a hopeful reflection on inner strength and perseverance through challenging times” from our carbon-sequestering companions. And, hopefully, they will outlast us all.
For many of us, the song provides a sharp reminder that for the last month we haven’t come into contact with anything at all, let alone some leafy greens, outside of our own four walls. For Rachel Beck, that means the song is all the more relevant as each of us are required to seek out fresh sources of inner strength… or visit the fridge every half hour out of boredom.
“Although I wrote this song long before ‘COVID-19’ and ‘social distancing’ were part of our everyday language, it has taken on new meaning for me these past few weeks,” says Beck. “I think many of us have had to connect with inner strength we didn’t even know we had in order to cope during this challenging time.
“For me personally, spending time in nature has been so grounding amidst all the fear and stress and chaos. When I feel overwhelmed, I walk out into the woods and just breathe. It’s sounds like such a simple thing, but it allows me to reset and find the strength to keep going.”
So, if you have the option, maybe the key to enduring all of this is to visit your nearest tree and learn whatever you can from it.
Rachel Beck’s sophomore album, Stronger Than You Know, is set to be released later this year.