The Hot-Button Issues

s much as we try to keep a pulse on the kind of content you, our valued reader, appreciate and look out for, there’s really no foolproof way to nail it for everyone. At a simplistic level, one reader writes in to say she’d like to see more content on the menopause stage, another wants guidance on starting her baby on solids, and a third wants to know how he can improve blood glucose levels to combat a pre-diabetes diagnosis (yes, a substantial percentage of Wellspring readers are male). More holistically, one reader is looking out for effective weight loss tips, while another is either trying to help her child gain weight (see this issue’s Ask the Nutritionist) or trying to take a step back from the weight loss game with a desire to listen more to her own hunger and fullness cues. We know, we know. There’s no one way to please everyone and to do so would be not only an unrealistic goal, but an unhealthy one. However, one way to know that a piece we’ve published struck a cord with many of you is through our inbox. And last month’s influx of feedback regarding the article we ran in this space was a prime example.

We can never quite know which piece will collectively kindle the embers, but from experience, the stakes are high on pieces regarding emotional wellbeing. That’s not hard to understand. After all, we don’t get as fired up on the merits or downsides of consuming more proteins and less carbs or getting some more exercise in our day as we do on subjects that touch us in the deepest of places. The flurry of responses to last month’s article titled “How Much Do You Weigh?” was in hindsight not surprising; it simply affirmed the above premise.

So this is one topic readers want to hear more of, we concluded: How to attain a healthier sense of self, how to feel more okay with who we are as we are. We want to tap into the clarity and wisdom to appreciate our essence for the invaluable, beautiful being that it is. When our self-perception is so enmeshed in a number on the scale or external appearance, and we’re aware enough to notice it (a commodity in itself), insights on how to climb out of the rut resonate deeply with us. t is with this in mind that we bring you this issue’s Inner Parenting column. This article could have been a stand-alone Wellbeing Feature, but since readers submitted questions from their perspective as parents of young girls, we’re running it from the parenting angle. It’s fascinating to notice how parenting—and marriage, as well—urges us to reconsider so many of our values, to stretch ourselves in ways in which we may have otherwise remained stagnant.

I’ve noticed this often with questions submitted to Wellspring, as well as in my own life and with the women I work with. I’m currently teaching a series on Mesillas Yesharim on Bnos Melachim’s Inspire by Wire hotline (if you love learning, especially about the truest pleasures in life, this is for you!), and there, too, I’ve noticed this phenomenon. The women who reach out to me upon listening to the shiurim often come with a question about parenting or marriage that relates to the subject matter, and this often serves as a window into their deepest selves. These are the places they may have never uncovered were it not for the nuances of their most precious relationships. Our children, goes the profound saying, are our greatest teachers. May we merit learning those lessons with patience, wisdom, and joy.

Wishing you a start of a wonderful and healthy summer season,