Embracing Change

It’s hard to believe that the holidays went away quickly and a new year is upon us. I have reflected on some of the conversations I had with family and friends over the last year. Nearly everyone I spoke with expressed a desire for spiritual reflection, regeneration and personal growth. This trend was especially noticeable among my female friends, many of whom have selflessly dedicated many years to building careers or raising families.

For these women, 2013 is the year of “Me.” This Summer, my sister-in-law will head to Italy and a close friend believes that she has “let herself go” in recent years and wants to dedicate 2013 to exercise and nutrition. Another friend plans on devoting 2013 entirely to growing her business, a dream she had put off for a long time, because the timing was never “right.”

We get lost in the hustle and bustle, promising ourselves that once the mayhem dies down, we can finally catch up on things that truly matter. But the timing is never right, unless we prioritize our goals and make the time. No longer will I put off learning the Punjabi language and culture. Just the other day, I spent 2 hours working with a tutor, as I embarked on the pursuit of this dream. The old ‘Me’ would have regarded this as a colossal waste of time, given how many tasks I had on my to-do list.

This year, what are you doing for yourself, especially in regards to harmony and innovation? Our diversity helps in establishing a calmer mind, body and spirit, if we are willing to tap its benefits through simple knowledge and exposure. With over 200 ethnicities and languages as well as over 20% of the population of Canada claiming a mother tongue that is not English or French, there is so much that we can learn from our neighbours, friends and colleagues.

The cover of this Health and Wellness issue is graced by Howie Mandel, Diversity Magazine’s Person Of The Year 2012. Our Editorial Board chose Howie for his mental health advocacy and putting his popularity as judge on America’s Got Talent, host of Deal or No Deal, NBC’s all new Take It All and Fox Network’s Mobbed to good use. As a Jewish person who was bullied out of school in Toronto for his mental illness, Howie Mandel opens up to Diversity on time, in the wake of the Summer Of The Gun, the Sandy Hook school killings and more.

Aside from the problem of depression, which affects many in our diverse communities, we also present our ‘Five Stars In Diversity’, with professionals in the healthcare sector; recipes for diverse soups that are keeping Canadians warm this Winter, as well as other inspiring stories on purpose, fashion, inspiration as well as Black History Month.
With a readership of over 80,000 per issue, Diversity Magazine, which is circulated throughout the GTA plus an online version that reaches the entire world, we are excited about the opportunity to serve you with stories that inspire, transform, empower, showcase, integrate and celebrate our diversity. Thank you for joining us on this exciting journey. Along the way, let us stop and smell the roses as well as the scent and beauty of other flowers in the garden of diversity.

Cynthia Kenth
Editor