Dear Friends,

It has been a month since I sat down to write my letter to you our readers—some of you I know as friends or peers, some as business acquaintances, some of you I do not know but I would like the opportunity to. Whichever the case, I try to write from my heart. My heart has been heavy this last month, as we had to say goodbye to our beloved pet, Maggie May Smith. You may have read about her last month. I miss that sweet doggie.

I won’t belabor her passing except to say it has been a bit hard to find joy in this last month. If you have pets, you know what a void it leaves when they pass on. It has been hard to let go; I keep thinking I hear her around the house. So, today I went for a brisk walk. Activity seems to stir up those needed endorphins to get the mind flowing. I remembered how lucky and grateful I am to live in a small town by the bay which delivers views beyond measure and sunsets unrivaled. After my walk, I sank into a warm lavender scented tub to find inspiration to pen something upbeat for this March issue. It came to me: See the Good.

I was reminded of the all the good that surrounds me and all of us in this Gulf Coast setting, all the good in the pages of this magazine, all the people I encountered in the last few weeks while working toward the production of Natural Awakenings Gulf Coast. I am touched over and over by the dedication of entrepreneurs who work at their passions for holistic health, healing and new wellness discoveries every day. I even met a local author who is coming out with a book about reprogramming and enhancing your genetic assets to turn your health and your children’s health around. How good is that?

I admire my friends and colleagues in the natural health foods industry and farmers’ markets who educate us and connect us with foods that nourish our bodies. You will read in these pages how important it is to buy local, not just for your health but for our economy and, by extension, our world. This is good.

I’m proud to know the holistic healers that advertise with us past and present, who promote and provide natural healing in form of everything from organic products to alkaline water to salt therapy to vitamin replenishment to hormone therapy to weight loss options and everything in between! This is good.

The week of February 13, I met two new like-minded friends. One offers functional medicine answers to all kinds of health-related issues and one offers self-care and self-healing in the form of a brand-new full-service day spa, located in Fairhope. So good.

Now that I’ve put some thought to it, I could go on and on about what is good in my life and all our lives in this area. It boils down to lots of hope. Hope that we will all focus on these things that are good amidst all the negative things in the news today. But I’ll leave you with this. The biggest ‘good’ in my life is my husband. He steps up when I am down or busy with two jobs. He cooks dinner, does the dishes, plans outings and he rubs my feet. Good.

God bless you and keep you,