Happy New Year!  I hope your 2015 was wonderful and filled with love and laughter.  As I looked for inspiration for this letter, I re-read my Publisher’s letter for January 2015. In that letter I laid out my plans for keeping a “Joy Jar,” a container I would fill with written reminders of joyful moments I experienced throughout the year. The intention was to open the jar a year later, remind myself of those moments and no doubt feel the appropriate amount of gratitude.

Well, this year’s letter is part confession, and part celebration. Confession, because of course I did not keep my resolution to write down my joyful moments and can’t even find the jar I prepared to hold the notes.  Celebration, because I did have a wondrous year. So darned good, in fact, that I don’t need any written reminders. This past year for me was filled with new friends and relationships, a better understanding of myself, exciting foreign and domestic travel, and new inspiration for 2016.

Although life often hits us with scary and unexpected events, I do believe that our outlook and expectations determine most, if not all, of what we experience. I’ve been delving deeply into Law of Attraction philosophies this year and feel they contain truth and wisdom. We attract what we focus our attention and thoughts on. We can therefore attract the best life has to offer by expecting it, appreciating what we already have, and raising our thought “vibrations” to match that of our highest selves. Even if this sounds too “new age-y” for you, living life this way is definitely more pleasant than focusing on the unwanted.

Of course, part of making 2016 your best year ever is facing the reality of how you treat your body and mind. Reducing stress, eating right, and taking the best care of yourself possible will align your actions with your intentions. This issue has material to make that alignment easy. In addition to informative articles, we offer great recipes, community events, and local health and wellness resources for your benefit and enjoyment.   

To a healthy, prosperous, and joyous year!

Ana