Multitudes of people I know or know of came to mind as I read Linda Sechrist’s feature article, “Change Makers: Inspired to Act.” It caused me to pause to consider how blessed we truly are to be publishing the Boston edition of Natural Awakenings and have the daily privilege of meeting change makers of all kinds.

Greater Boston is teeming with noble souls whose heartfelt desire inspires them to act on their authentic intention to improve the quality of life for others. Some of them fill our pages each month, offering their products and services with the pure intent of working to forward the health of people and the planet and serve the greater good.

Whether we feel internally prompted to offer a smile to a stranger, hold open a door or become a leading social activist, we are all capable of being change makers. I love the encouragement lived by American activist Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund: “We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.”

It’s heartwarming to hear the sometimes heroic stories of folks that moved to start and nurture a helping business after recognizing a need encountered in their personal journey. One such story is referenced in this month’s article, “Thermal Imaging: A Key for Early Detection,” by Gina Cronin. She relates how a local thermographer felt impelled to open her business after losing a friend to cancer due to late detection.

While it can be easy to get sucked into the negativity spread by careless media and fall into a mindset that bad can outweigh good in the world, I believe that only the tiny fraction of the world’s population embodies ill intention. The overwhelming majority of humanity are good-hearted do-gooders that are able to banish the dark corners with our collective light. Our hats are off to light-filled change makers everywhere.

Peace,

Maisie Raftery, Publisher