February 2022 Letter from Publisher
Feb 01, 2022 12:00AM ● By Jordan Peschek
Jordan Peschek, Publisher
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. – Jimi Hendrix
In the book Happiness Found in Translation, author Tim Lomas notes that words such as “happiness” and “love” encompass an incredible range of emotions and experiences, but, as he points out, our words for these feelings are quite limiting. We can use this one word, love, to describe all of the following: a deep romantic connection; the heartfelt feelings toward friends; compassion and kindness toward self; a deep respect for other humans and cultures far removed from our inner circle; the fond, lighthearted appreciation for our pets; or even a beautiful sunset. These can all be described as love, yet each is so different. It is when we dig into the many nuances of the idea of love—perhaps even exploring words from other cultures as well as our own—that we can more fully understand each other, and deeply notice, articulate and embrace our human experience.For example, jeong is a Korean noun that, though described as difficult to translate, can represent the feeling of deep attachment and affection for others—one that encompasses compassion, kindness and empathy, but may or may not imply romance. On the other hand, the word eros specifically denotes the sensual and passionate form of love.
In addition to the realization that a single word can represent so many feelings, the concept of the “five love languages” suggests that love is commonly shown in five ways, and that each person may value them in a different order. Words, touch, acts of service, the giving and receiving of gifts and the sharing of quality time are all various ways in which love can be expressed and shared with anyone in your life.
In this heart-centered month, we offer content across various subject lines, all rooted in the concept of love and kindness toward self and others.
The article The Heart-Mind Connection explores the interrelationship of our thoughts and emotions to our physical body. Our Inspiration piece touches on the balance of both giving and receiving as a two-way street that allows communication and compassion to flow.
As parents, teachers and role models, we can spread some of this wisdom to the younger generation. Our Healthy Kids article places emphasis on communication and modeling positive behavior. This helps set the stage at an early age for children to think and act from a place of kindness and honesty.
Fostering a pet is a great way to spread compassion and to give of oneself to another being in need. In our Natural Pet article, we offer guidance to first-time pet foster parents.
From a broader perspective, our Eco Tip reminds us that the shopping choices we make can indirectly help or harm other people and the planet.
In closing, I think it is important to remind ourselves that love encompasses an entire landscape of beautiful emotions and experiences, and that we should seek to open our hearts to all of these facets of love.
A world rife with dissonance and discrepancy is only rebalanced with love and kindness. There is no other way. Discord, debate and fear are holes that can only be patched with communication, support and compassion.
With loving thoughts,
Jordan Peschek
Publisher
