Life is like a Garden

Laying out the magazine for the month of May, I could not help but see HOPE throughout it. I worked with Andrew Steele, Olympic athlete and co-owner of DNAFit, to look deeper into my genes to see my capacity for exercise and my genetic response to certain foods (see article on page 34). The experience left me with a lot of hope, as it turns out I have one genotype that is common in Olympic athletes! (#NoMoreExcuses). Natural Awakenings also interviewed Long Island local Christie Brinkley to get wise words on aging gracefully; and reading that article filled me with hope that it is never too late (or early, for that matter) to focus on lastng beauty.

Spring reminds me of my sister—not because she was born in the spring and not because she
died in the spring—but because she planted in the spring. Planting was her passion (and, as of late, it has become mine, too). I think that for her, spring represented hope. Hope for new growth, new experience and, ultimately, hope that if she planted and weeded she would be rewarded with, in time, beautiful new owers. Each spring, my sister used to (and now I do) prepare a garden, motivated by the hope of what might grow.

Life is not unlike a garden. This winter has added leaves and brush to the beds in the same manner that I have added pounds and bad habits. Spring is the time to shed those and start focusing on your hopes and dreams.

Where to start? Perhaps with a list of do’s and don’ts! Here are some do’s: Do start that garden, even if you have never gardened before; do sign up for that yoga teacher training or summer trip; and do eat healthier! In the article “Spark Up Your Love Life,” on page 36, it says “an organic diet rich in complex carbs, which keeps blood sugar balanced, lean protein and good fats is ideal for women seeking to improve their sexual health.” So, you will find that eating healthy even adds spice (pun intended) to your love life. As for don’ts, there’s really only one I can think of: Don’t wait!

One way to plan your bright future this spring is to create a vision board. In “Picture Your Future,” author Jayne Morris provides detailed instructions about utilizing pictures, quotes, phrase and poems, etc., to create a vision board of your hopes and what you want to manifest. The first time I ever even heard of a vision board was when I decided not to go back to the corporate pharmaceutical world that I had been working in for 15 years (it no longer felt authentic) and made the decision to instead become publisher of Natural Awakenings Long Island. The magazine’s former owner, Julia Lopez-Motherway, said, “I knew you would buy the magazine; it was on my vision board.” I thought about that statement a lot during those first few months as publisher while struggling to make the magazine my own, and often wondered if she had a picture of a lollypop on her vision board (because there was a time or two when I felt like a real “sucker”). Vision boarding is an exercise of manifestation; and, according to my now friend Julia, who, it turns out, had a picture in her mind (and on her vision board) of someone that would love this magazine as much as she did (and not of a lollypop), “It’s fun and it works.”

My sister found hope in her garden, and now I do as well; my friend Julia found hope in her vision board. This spring, I hope you find hope for your dreams, your future or your garden, because, “He who has hope, has everything.”

Happy Mother’s Day!

Malama Pono!

 

 

Kelly Martinsen, Publisher