When things get turned upside down, I often find it best to regroup in the woods, and reconnect with nature in a way that brings me back to my childhood, when I’d find escape and safety within the folds of a forest. As a kid, on those days when my anxiety got the best of me, it was the place I went after the stresses of school. If I was raw and tender from the familiar worry and over-analysis running through my head, I could step into the backyard and slip away into the woods.
Growing older, I sought out nature when living in Boston. On those tough nights when I was lonelier than I ever admitted, I would venture out to the harbor to seek the sea. Even in the winter when the flagpoles were clanging in the wind like church bells, there was solace by the water. Other nights, nearer to spring, I would find my way home while skirting the Boston Public Garden, drawn by the shadows of trees, lured by the fragrance of unseen flowers. In the middle of the city, nature found a way, and I would find a way to nature.
These days I’m looking to go back, in any way possible.
