New beginning

Vegetarian Times, Jan, 2002 by Laurel Lund

I can't think of a more exciting way to jump-start the new year than by joining you at Vegetarian Times! I have long been an admirer of the magazine, having become a vegetarian 10 years ago after learning that a plant-based diet didn't necessarily mean a diet of beans and greens. I also admire the publication because it has served as a bellwether of the times, moving from its tree-hugging, Haight-Ashbury roots in the '70s to the more all-encompassing, contemporary lifestyle publication it is becoming today. I watched as it took its first baby steps, slow and unmeasured, a little unsure of what it wanted to be when it grew up. I watched it through its turbulent teens, as its sense of independence engendered a backlash against the establishment, fighting the good fight against numerous causes. Today I am watching it enter young adulthood, confident in its ability to help us all become more healthy, more whole in body, mind and spirit.

I also kept my eye on the magazine because as it matured, so did an idea I had for a magazine of my own: Natural Home, which I launched three years ago. To that publication I brought all of my experience as a magazine editor for such publications as Better Homes & Gardens, Home and Mountain Living--plus a healthy dose of passion--to create a recipe for a natural, healthful, sustainable lifestyle.

I bring that same passion to Vegetarian Times--that same sense that the magazine isn't just for vegetarians. It's for all of us who want to lead a life of health and harmony. It's a way of sharing with the world what vegetarians may have always felt: That a healthy, plant-based diet provides us with incredible vitality, better mental acuity and more nourishment than the traditional American Mc-Diet. It's a way of sharing with the world that to live lightly on the planet is to lighten the spirit. It's a way of life. It's a gift that keeps on giving.

This same gift was evident in the events surrounding the September 11 WTC tragedy, an event that occurred as I was driving to Connecticut from Denver to join the magazine. Many of the city's finest vegetarian restaurants--from Angelicas Kitchen to the Candle Cafe, from Josie's to the Zen Palate--joined with equally generous non-vegetarian eateries to provide on-site rescue teams and everyday heroes with all manner of sustenance--from vegetarian chili to dumplings, even holding prayer vigils and fundraisers for the families of the lost.

The restaurants' willingness to share their abundance, their caring, echoes the sentiments of M.J. Ryan in this issue's "Last Thoughts"--sentiments lived by a beloved friend and mentor, Patrick O'Hara, whom the world lost that day: We have everything we need, right now. The world is perfect as it is, right now. And through life's journey, "we are being led, we have been led, we will be led."

Whether you are vegetarian or non, I am thrilled that my journey has led me to you.