Choose thoughts that bring love into your life and laugh a lot. Say yes to life and the magic it brings. ~  Louise Hay

Happy New Year!

Most of us make resolutions to improve our health or appearance or to become “better” in some way.  Presumably we expect to find happiness at the end of the road if we succeed.  Do we have it backward? If we look instead for moments of happiness and joy, maybe we will become healthier and more beautiful as a result—more ourselves, and closer to the person we were meant to be. Several books I’ve read recently teach that joy is a marker that lets you know you are on the right path. How do you find joy? Look for glimpses in your relationships, hobbies, music, or art and acknowledge the moments as significant. Be grateful for them and consider whether they point down a road worth exploring.

As an exercise in affirming these moments, I plan to keep a Joy Jar during 2015.  It simply consists of writing down on slips of paper joyful moments and things I am grateful for, placing them in a jar throughout the year, and then reviewing them on New Year’s Eve. Whether my jar fills up or not, I hope the ritual reminds me of my blessings and teaches me where my own joy leads.

Louise Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life, believes that loving and forgiving yourself leads to health, happiness and longevity, and claims that changing ones thoughts by cultivating self-love and personal affirmations can heal disease, addiction, obesity, PTSD and more. For her take on the subject, read our article “Louise Hay on Loving Yourself to Ageless Health” on page 21.

Of course our Health and Wellness issue also has guidance on healing and balancing the body directly including the latest holistic approaches to understanding metabolism (“It’s All About Metabolism” on page 25), smart food choices for hormone health (“Hormone-Happy Foods” on page 30), and how high-intensity workouts improve insulin levels (“Interval Training Knocks Down Blood Sugar” on page 33).

I hope you find both approaches interesting and helpful in crafting your own path toward a healthy, prosperous, and joyous 2015.

Ana