I grew up in a very small town in Connecticut. There was one babysitter, Mrs. Shepard, an older woman who lived on a farm, and many kids in town were in her care. We walked to and from our small school, and after school we fed the horses, ran in the fields and splashed in the stream. I remember catching salamanders under rocks — fascinated by their yellow spots or orange stripes. We watched tadpoles grow in stale water and we learned, the hard way, that when chickens peck, they mean business.

Passport to self-reliance, natural exploration. — Alison Mead

At home, I’d climb the red oak tree in our front yard and play imaginative jungle games with my tiger-striped cat. It was independent creative play at its best, and it offered me escape from the harsher landscape of reality. It reminds me of something Rebecca Solnit wrote, “For me, childhood roaming was what developed self-reliance, a sense of direction and adventure, imagination, a will to explore, to be able to get a little lost and then figure out the way back.”

I spent weekends with my father, a builder, and for as far back as I can remember we would walk the properties that he owned or hoped to own. I owe a great deal to him for cultivating my love of nature. And here, on the Island, my father introduced me to the vast opportunities to discover the natural world, always with William Flender’s Walking the Trails of Martha’s Vineyard in hand.

On the Vineyard we are blessed to have an expansive trail system, thanks in part to the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, The Trustees of Reservations, and Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation. While I’ve explored only a handful so far, I do have my favorites. And there are ones I look forward to discovering. In summer, trail walks offer a much-needed respite from the crowds and hurried hustle that the season brings. In the off season, trail walks give me fresh air and sunlight, necessary elements to carry me through a season that lends itself to hibernation. In my free time, I head out to seek solace in the woods. Poet Pablo Neruda wrote, “I stroll along serenely, with my eyes, my shoes, my rage, forgetting everything.”

Up several simple steps to Gay Head Moraine. — Alison Mead

For me, the simple act of walking is meditative, one foot in front of another, left right left right left right. Don’t look too far ahead, just focus on each step. It’s a practice to apply to life as well, and a lesson which has guided me through some challenging times both in life and in nature.

I visited Alaska about 10 years ago — we hiked to the top of a mountain, through the tundra, and up above the tree line. As I sat at the top, looking out across lakes and mountains on what felt like the top of the world, I remember being completely overcome with emotion. In one powerful moment, I felt alive, I felt in awe and I felt absolutely present. It was magical. It is in these moments that I fully embrace Ram Dass’ mantra: “Be here now.”

I am ever grateful to nature for teaching me these lessons, and for being there wherever I go and for whatever I need.