Bring me back

“When I’m feeling low all I know is that you’re there waiting for me

When I’m feeling low, all I know is that you’ll show me something new

When I’m feeling low all I know is that I’ll leave feeling free

When I’m feeling free, all I know is that you’ll bring me back again.”

•- Jeanne McGlinchey, July 2009

When I’m feeling low, with limited funds available and no vacation in sight, I have a spot that I go to feel like I’m in another place, another time, and it’s in my backyard! There is an urban oasis that spans five towns and over 2000 acres just a few miles from Boston, Massachusetts called the Middlesex Fells Reservation. The Fells has acres of hills, meadows, forests, ponds, and rock features to explore. Two of my favorite areas of the park are the endless hiking trails and Spot Pond for boating and kayaking.

As I struggle to pay my bills and my blood pressure is runs high, a hike on the birch trails to the Cascade falls or wandering an unexplored path regulates my breathing. The world is so quiet around me on those trails save for the wind through the trees, the animals scurrying in the brush, my footfalls and my (sometimes) labored breathing. The world starts to get much smaller as the park opens its arms to me. As a photographer, all I see are the little things… The light from above on that leaf canopy. The colors of the rock in the Cascade. The symbolism of that trail in front of me when I don’t know where it leads. When I am walking through the forest, breathing in the new oxygen produced by the flora surrounding me, I can’t help but gain some perspective on my life.

One of the only other places that centers me is in my kayak on Spot Pond. On weekdays and weekends from May through October, the Pond is open to non-mechanized boating. Here in my kayak I am so close to the water, to myself. Every so often, I’ll stop paddling, close my eyes and listen to the sound of the waves as they hit my little boat. I often wish I had brought my voice recorder to capture that sound, hoping it would bring me back here on sleepless nights. I lie there in the sun as it fills fill me up with warmth and light. I let my hands drift, feeling the coolness of the water teasing my fingertips. The water grounds me, and I float home supported by the earth beneath me.

This wonderful park is full of things to discover, and I find something new each time I visit. I hope that you find an oasis in your own backyard as well, they are closer than you think. Share with us something you’ve found that has moved you.

The Middlesex Fells includes areas in Medford, Winchester, Stoneham, Melrose and Malden, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit Middlesex Fells Reservation.

Image and words courtesy of Jeanne McGlinchey (aka Bostongaljm) who shares her photography in her shop Small World Photography on Etsy and on Flickr.