I felt it would be nice to hear from our hard-working editor, Linda Sechrist this month. Linda has been working her magic behind the scenes for the past 20 years, giving readers much of our editorial content each month. Not only is she busy with Natural Awakenings but she’s also President of the SWFL RESET Center in Ft. Myers and supports many environmental organizations and important causes such as signing The Florida Right to Clean Movement (FloridaRightToCleanWater.org). I feel extremely blessed by our collaboration and friendship.

Sharon Bruckman, Publisher 

Twenty years went by in a flash. Doing what I loved and being aligned with my purpose, time didn’t seem to exist each month as I was interviewing people, listening to their stories, and writing articles for 244 issues. I love to listen to people’s stories. It began in sixth grade when my teacher, Mrs. Snyder, read the Adventures of Tom Sawyer to our class. The characters, Becky Tatcher, Huckleberry Finn, and Injun Joe sprang to life and sparked my imagination when I heard Mark Twain’s words. I think I’ve been enthralled with listening ever since. 

This month, I interviewed one of my favorite authors, Phil Cousineau, who wrote The Art of Pilgrimage. You won’t see the results of that interview until September, when you read my feature story on travel. Because of The Art of Pilgrimage and Crossing to Avalon by Jean Shinoda Bolen, in 2000, my daughter and I had our pilgrimage to sacred sites in England. 

Interviewing people I admire and whose books I’ve read is my greatest joy. Reading the great luminaries of our times and having phone conversations with them, that I turned into articles, is what helped to raise my consciousness. This is why I so enjoyed interviewing Fort Myers resident, Kandy Love, for Local Awakenings. Listening to stories of how people awaken, how it changes their lives and affects their decisions usually gives me goosebumps as I so often hear parts of my story in theirs. 

Naples resident, Josephine DeVincenzi, is our Reader Spotlight. I met the cofounder of the Carbon CREW (Carbon Reduction for Earth Wellbeing) Project, at the Climate Summit. She, like me, is concerned about what’s happening to Earth and hopeful that those who join her book club and read 2040: A Handbook for the Regeneration based on the documentary 2040, by Damon Gameau, will become equally as concerned and hopeful. 

After so many years and so many interviews, I’ve become friends with people I’ve interviewed. Terri Evans, owner of Tae Healthy Aging, and Jennifer Alvarez Linguidi, owner of Purely You Spa, are among them. Their stories this month fascinated me so much that I might just try Terri’s acupuncture facelift and Jennifer’s sauna with chromotherapy. I also might get curious enough to check out Purely You’s Cold Plunge at the BioHack Launch this month. 

We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of Natural Awakenings. 

Linda Sechrist

Editor