Negative political campaigning and media coverage that sensationalizes news to serve it’s own bottom line instead of the public welfare does its best to drag us under a mesmerizing pall of pessimism, hopelessness and depression. Those that aren’t alert may repeat calls for fear-based isolationism and scarcity thinking and behavior, despite the fact that Americans live in the most abundantly blessed nation on Earth. Alert thinkers, including our readership, learn to guard their thoughts by intentionally raising their focus to look for and appreciate what’s good and positive and then magnifying that in their consciousness.

This reminds me of the third principle in Stephens Covey’s book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s vital to know what’s important to you and spend your time and energy focusing on that, instead of attending to that which’s merely noisy or presented as urgent. We so often hear about people’s missteps and tragedies, whether through media or gossip; the way to change it all for the better is for us all to stop tuning into or repeating such messages.

As a young child I was taught to see at least some bit of good in every situation; and over the years, I’ve found that when we look for it, we find it. Our Creator’s instruction manual advises us in Phillippians 4:8, “… whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

I love doing this. It’s a big reason why I chose to publish this magazine. Natural Awakenings, as you know, is always big on solutions, and this month our focus on Game Changers provides a glimpse into the lives of individuals heeding the call to seek out pressing problems and activate solutions, big and small. Reading Linda Sechrist’s feature article, “Change Makers: Inspired to Act,” we feel uplifted by realizing the powerful ripple effect that’s possible from even one person working to make our world a better place to live.  Even a small group, lifting up their light together, is radically powerful.

As a nationwide organization of compassionate, committed franchise publishers, contributors, local businesses, support staff and collective 4 million readers work together to boost the well-being of 95 communities across America, we consider Natural Awakenings an effective change agent. Sharing leading-edge information and actionable solutions for a healthier way of living aligned with a healthy environment is a goal all of us unite to support.

This month’s focus naturally includes some of our local game-changing initiatives advocating and activating progressive steps that have helped North Texas and in some cases, the whole country, create needed change. We hope that after meeting the innovator thinkers and impactful programs in these pages, you will feel more confident in the future and more secure in the world, as together, we move in the direction of improved health and sustainability.

To changing the world, one step at a time,

Bernice Butler, Publisher