Editorial
Volume 27 Issue 6 — March/April 2022
by Melva Armstrong

What a winter we have had in our province! It’s one of the most severe ones I’ve experienced in my life. The bone-chilling cold temperatures would take my breath away as soon as I stepped out the door. The consistent snowfalls often prevented us from leaving our home for 3 or 4 days until the grader would clear them. Last year’s winter was a piece of cake compared to this one. It has also been very hard on the domestic and wild animals, who brave the elements and somehow manage to survive in the extreme cold. I wonder how they do it. We’ve also been feeding the birds and are they ever hungry little critters, cleaning up the feed in record time each day!

Now we are heading toward spring and letting go of the snow and cold, and thinking about the warm spring and summer weather that’s ahead; cleaning and clearing up yards, and many folks getting ready for their gardening season. With that in mind, we have included Hélène Tremblay-Boyko’s article called The Joy of Tomatoes: Preparing for Spring Planting (p. 8). She covers everything from tomato’s nutritional values, to health benefits, to when to start the plants indoors, and the best time to eventually get them outdoors. She also takes us into early fall when the tomatoes ripen, including a variety of ways to use and preserve them. And, of course, she includes some of her favourite recipes for you to enjoy.

With all the fast-moving changes in our world, and the stress and worry that goes with them, I feel it is important for people to remember there is an abundance of natural health and wellness support all around them. One just has to look within these pages, as well as online and in other sources, to discover the gifted and talented practitioners, therapists, healers, naturopaths, and more who live and work in our communities, and who are there to support and provide services to keep folks healthy and happy.

It appears that things around COVID are starting to ease up with restrictions being lifted in many places. I am hopeful that our daily lives can become more relaxed and we will be able to come together more often. I feel this is a part of everyone’s healing process, to be able to spend time and have hugs with our beloved family and friends. Letting go of stress and sharing love and laughter in community is the crucial first step. May you all have the healing benefits of more fun and laughter and closeness in your lives.

This issue includes a wide range of topics and I trust you will enjoy the many healing and wellness gifts that are presented throughout.

It is common these days to hear people talk about “fasting.” There are many ways to fast and here naturopathic doctor Sussanna Czeranko shares her fasting expertise in her article, A Little Hunger Can Go a Long Way (p. 10). She writes, “Abstaining from food for a short period of time allows our bodies to initiate powerful purging of unwanted, damaged cellular debris that clogs our internal environment.” I have experienced fasting and I believe it is good to give the body some occasional times to detox.

Andrea Austin’s article, Compassion: The Ultimate Gift to Receive (p. 30) is fitting for this time in our world that has been turned upside down for two years. She writes about having compassion for oneself which is the key to receiving it from others. She says, “We must consciously choose compassion and kindness to come back to love for ourselves and others if we are going to move forward as a species.” I totally agree.

In Where There is Life There is Hope (p. 16) by Peg Beaton, she is introducing us to her recent book called Healing: A Family’s Journey. Peg believes at this time in our lives we are experiencing more loss and grief than ever before, and she feels it is important to process that grief in order to heal. She hopes the story of how she and her family found compassionate ways to overcome their grief will help others who are going through their own personal experiences of loss and grief.

Don’t stop, there is more love and compassion flowing on these pages, so you must read from cover to cover to savour the goodness, kindness, and gifts of all the loving contributors.

Happy Spring! May you dance and sing with the return of the light and live the spring days in peace, joy, harmony, and love.

Namaste
(The spirit in me honours the spirit in you)