Dear Readers,

Happy Holiday Season! As the days grow shorter and colder, I delight in the last of autumn’s leaves swirling from the trees and the twinkly holiday lights that begin to dress many of the houses in the area. And while the holiday songs have already been playing for several weeks by now, they lift my spirit and I enjoy singing along to most of them.

       Even with all of the festivity, this is an easy time of year to settle into a funk and it is important to find ways to keep yourself grounded, centered and fulfilled. Take a look at our calendar of events to discover many opportunities for you to develop a skill, find community or learn new ways to live a healthy life. If you find yourself needing more—seek out one or more of the practitioners listed in our Community Resource Guide in the back of the magazine who can help you heal your body, mind and spirit.

       If you are like me, you may just like to hunker down with a good book to relax and take a break from the demands of the day. I seem to have an endless pile—I tend to gravitate towards non-fiction books about personal development, natural health and well-being (which is probably why Natural Awakenings was my favorite local magazine long before I became its publisher!). I am currently reading Courageous Woman by local author Laurel Holland, Start Here Now by Susan Piver and No Time Like the Present by Jack Kornfield (for a Chrysalis Institute book club). I love finding things in these books that I can incorporate into my own life to help me continuously evolve into the best me I can be. To cultivate the love of reading is a gift we can give the children in our lives and this issue includes an article about books kids will love—just in time for holiday shopping!

       Speaking of holiday shopping—our special Holiday Guide for Conscious Giving highlights local businesses offering ways to express your appreciation for loved ones with meaningful gifts of health, well-being and sustainability.

       In spite of the holiday season typically being a time of hustle and bustle and buying and busy, seasonally, wintertime is a time for quiet and reflection and slowing down. A time to go inward to contemplate that which we hope to cultivate and grow in the new year. Do you find times to be quiet and still? How does it feel? I found this poem by Pablo Neruda to be a beautiful reminder of the importance of quiet…

Keeping Quiet

Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the Earth, let’s not speak in any language,
let’s stop for a second, and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment without rush, without engines;
we would all be together in a sudden strangeness.
If we were not so single-minded about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing, perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
Perhaps the Earth can teach us as when everything seems dead in winter
and later proves to be alive. Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

Enjoy your peace and quiet.

Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!

Jessica