Publisher'sletter I
end many of my articles with the saying, “Isn’t it all about what we learn on the journey than what’s at the end of the road? But many of us are so busy frantically trying to get to the end of the road or “there”, that we totally miss the journey. What I’ve come to realize, and then sometimes forget, is that there is no “there”. It doesn’t exist. Because when you fi nally get “there” in one area of your life, you’ll just create a new “there” that is farther out of reach then the original “there”. It’s what we do. Enjoying the journey is a hard thing to do for many people. We’re so consumed with fi guring out how we’re going to get there, what is it going to take, how much is it going to cost, how much money we’ll make, when is it going to happen?
How can you possibly enjoy the process with all of these things to think and worry about? The key is allowing stillness and meditation into your life. When you quiet the mind, you are able to see the beauty in the process of where you have been, where you are now and where you are going. You may even be able to see that you have made tremendous progress towards a goal or a dream that previously was hid- den to you because you were so caught up in the day to day minutia of getting there. This is when it becomes critical for you to stop and smell the fl owers, so to speak. If you are not able to see the progress, you will become frustrated and critical of yourself for not accom- plishing your goal fast enough. Taking the time to meditate and be quiet will allow you to see the bigger picture and feel good about how far you have come. For me, a great experience was taking a three day silent retreat. Not only did it help to ground me and open me up to new possibilities and visions for my life, but it created the space for me to really examine how far I had come in the last few years. I was able to acknowl- edge my accomplishments and I felt really good about where I was on the journey. The clarity and insight that I received after all the distractions fell away was priceless. Don’t wait until most of your life has passed by to start enjoying the journey. It’s all part of the grand scheme of why we each are here in this lifetime.
Wishing you health and happiness,
eptember is here and that means it is time for back to school shopping, colorful foliage and, my favorite fall activity, apple picking. Apples have a long history in Maine; I recently read that the fi rst apple trees in this region were the result of 17th century European sailors throwing apple cores from their fi shing boats in the Gulf of Maine. Other early im- migrants also brought seedlings to plant and by the 19th century apples had become one of Maine’s largest crops. Apples have become part of the culinary tradition in Maine, and they are also a widely available and a delicious health food! We have all heard the old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, and as it turns out, there may be more
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truth to this statement than you may have thought. Apples are a great source of disease-fi ghting antioxidants and soluble fi ber. Phytonu- trients, the antioxidant compounds found in apples, have been shown to help prevent heart disease, cancer and asthma. Apples may also be effective in blood sugar regulation, and this can help lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The soluble fi ber in apples can help lower LDL cholesterol, which is another heart-healthy benefi t of the fruit. Since much of the fi ber and antioxidant power of apples are found in the skin, so it is important to eat skin as well. For additional information about Maine’s apple history and to fi nd an orchard near you, visit
www.maineapples.org.
In good health,
www.EssentialLivingMaine.com
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