Greetings from Mike & Cindy Jan. 2019

Greetings.

Happy January 2019! As many of you know the month of January was named for the Roman god Janus. Janus was in charge of transitions and was pictured as having two faces, one looking to the past and one to the future. So, January has long been the time when we review the past year and make plans and resolutions for the coming one. This can be both a good and a not so good thing.

George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” As the new year starts, spend some time going back over the events and decisions of the past year and maybe even further back. No doubt there are accomplishments to celebrate as well as regrets about bad decisions and things left undone.

Benjamin Franklin counsels us, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” So, this is also the time to make plans and resolutions, set goals and redo your vision board. As publishers, we not only have broad brush goals and plans but we also have deadlines to meet that we have to put on the calendar if we have any hope of meeting them much less having a life outside of work. As you are making your resolutions and planning your year, be sure to plan time for yourself, your family and for fun.

While it’s good to make resolutions to do things differently or maybe to not do that again, it’s not a good thing to ruminate about what might have been. Nor is it good to obsess over what bad thing might happen or what might go wrong in the future. Both feeling deep regret of past mistakes or fear for the future are neither healthy or productive. Allen Saunders reminds us that, “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” When the past or the future feel like they are closing in on you, come back to the present, practice being in the moment, being here – now. Be thankful for the ordinary things you do have. We’re thankful that Cindy and I are both in good health today. We’re thankful that we have each other. We’re thankful for family and friends whom we care about and who care about us. We’re thankful that we have a roof over our heads and food in the pantry. We’re thankful that we have four fur babies who love us. We are thankful to have a business, like Natural Awakenings that we get to share with all of you.

Check out great articles and events featured in this month’s magazine. Subscribe to our digital magazine by texting NAHTX to 66866 so you don’t miss an issue and are entered in our monthly drawings for gift certificates from our advertisers. When you call or visit our advertisers be sure to thank them for making this publication possible. Until next month…

Mike & Cindy Hart