Editor’s Letter: Fall 2020

WELLNESS.

This issue of Edible Ojai and Ventura County, of particular interest to me personally, was planned long before there was a pandemic, before mass business closures (temporary or otherwise), before California started burning (again), and before so much anxiety had grown surrounding the upcoming election. But now, the topic of wellness is more crucial than at any time in recent history.

As I sit on a beach in Ventura penning this letter—drinking in the sounds of the waves and the smells of the ocean—I realize that “wellness” means different things to different people. It might be a regularly scheduled spa day or massage, a daily hike or surf session, a focus on nutrition or diet, or even just surrounding yourself with people that you love. (On the beach? Even better!)

To me, having studied this a bit in recent years, wellness is the result of a lifestyle of caring for one’s self, for others and for the land. It takes time, energy and the cultivation of practices that include self-kindness, compassion and empathy for others and eco-awareness and activism. It isn’t easy, I think, but it can be delightfully fun.

Based on what I have been hearing and seeing from people lately, I would say that the world we find ourselves in now is filling many of us with a deep weariness. Maybe we don’t focus so much on wellness because there is so much else to worry about. Maybe our yoga studios and hiking trails have been closed. Maybe the stress of figuring out work and living in the midst of the COVID mess has us distracted and despairing or even angry.

Cancer survivor and inspirational author Greg Anderson says, “The concept of total wellness recognizes that our every thought, word, and behavior affects our greater health and well-being. And we, in turn, are affected not only emotionally but also physically and spiritually.” Plenty of research has shown that our physical being (even health) is directly affected by our thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

For me, this is an incredibly empowering idea! I know that “positive thinking” is the go-to when folks think of ways to shift their mind-set but I think it is actually much deeper. What if we focused instead on just an acceptance of what we were feeling, a patience for where we currently are (and where others are) and a gentle compassion for our process? Would it change our circumstances? No, but it might change the way we view them.

Obviously, a single issue of this magazine is not going to touch on every aspect of wellness or do more than scratch the surface. So we are sharing just a taste of some practical ways to seek wellness. For the mind, I share some of my favorite books that might help on the journey (page 26). For the body, we offer some great tips on moving more for your holiday meal (page 30)—and they might not be what you think! For the diet, we have tips and recipes to support everything from glowing skin to digestive health. And for the land, we explore how nature might hold the key to reducing the effects of wildfires and building better soil for farming (page 32).

As you read these pages, consider the advice I recently heard from Eric Quinn Hargrove, co-founder of Corky’s Nuts: “We need to focus on our own signal, not the noise from everything else.”

May this fall bring you peace, wellness and good eating!