I love this quote attributed to George Washington, the first president of the United States, “We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.”

This quote resonates with me as I am writing to you due to a situation where I missed an opportunity that could have been advantageous to me in some good ways other than as a lesson of what not to do the next time. Although it seems that life lessons aren’t always easy, experiencing them fully is the only way to grow through to an improved quality of life.

Reflecting on what 2020 taught me, I’ve concluded that I’ve learned a lot about how to live more in the present moment as opposed to looking back at or lamenting the past and even anticipating into the future. I’m appreciating adopting a bit more of a balanced approach that keeps me closer to where I am and where I want to go next as a way to stay more grounded and focused.

One past experience I’m happy to remember today relates to our feature article by author Marlana Donato, “Integrative Hospital Care, Medicine Embraces Holistic Modalities.” I recall the time spent as I began this adventure going door to door with sample magazines to establish our distribution in 2010 into early 2011.

Reiki had recently begun spreading more widely into hospitals in Boston and throughout other large U.S. cities. All of our Natural Awakenings family of publishers had determined early on to serve as a bridge between holistic/natural and conventional medicine. Over the years, it’s been wonderful to see how far we’ve come in bringing more attention to ancient and natural healing modalities.

See “Boston Hospitals Using Integrative and Holistic Therapies” for brief descriptions of integrative care being offered at such facilities  following the feature article.

With warm wishes for a peaceful winter and new year.

Peace,

Maisie Raftery