My sister, Laurie, and I have discussed countless times how blessed we were during mom’s end-of-life journey. Our mom had a wonderful circle of friends that stepped forward and became an amazing support system as we cared for her in her last year of life. In addition, we had incredibly caring doctors that made what could have been a very arduous process into office visits that felt like family time.

In our feature article, Sacred Passage, author Linda Sechrist states, “Whether it involves marriage or birth, job loss or illness, gleaning insight from the experience can yield fresh perspective on how to live life more fully today, if we remain mindful and lovingly attentive through the process.” I agree, we gained a fresh perspective as we cared for our mother. She inspired us to examine our lives and make choices that will enable us to consciously live life in a truly compassionate and caring manner. Because of her dedication to her friends and spiritual circle while she was healthy, the love she extended to them returned ten-fold when she was in need. They often shared with us stories of how she had helped them in the past, allowing us to see our mom through their eyes.

In Kissed by Kindness Psychologist John Gottman shares, “There’s a key habit of mind that the masters have. They are scanning the social environment for things they can appreciate and express thanks for.” My mother instilled this attitude of gratitude in us and we are so grateful she did. Finding moments of gratitude in a time of stress made a world of difference.

February brings us Valentine’s Day so in this issue we celebrate love and kindness. You’ll find within these pages, tips for how kindness can lead to a healthy, happy marriage. You can gain understanding of how women relate to men in our Wisewords column. Explore how horses can help heal us with their gentle empathy. And in our Healing Ways column discover how o-zone oxygen therapy heals a host of ills. This month I hope you celebrate love and those you are thankful for in your life. We are grateful for you, our readers, joining us on this journey of exploring natural health.

Here’s to kindness and love!

Kris Urquhart, Publisher