This Issue: Patience!

These days find us all learning the power of patience.  We have stayed the course of a myriad of life-altering events in recent years.  We have prayed, chanted, meditated, shouted, cried, and found our way to the inevitable virtue of patience. It is what quiets the mind and says, “This too shall pass,” or “The best is yet to come.”  And during this season of light, we find ourselves in recognition that, in truth, light is all we have; sometimes it just takes patience to see it.

The subject of our Feature Image, Tucker Lott, has been patiently nurturing a dream for over 20 years.  Back then, we bought bags and cards from Tucker’s brand/dream, Soul of Santa.  Today, his reality extends far beyond his product line.  Souls of Santa is a foundation that serves his community and beyond.  You’ll read more about this dream-come-true in this issue.

What does it take to dream, initiate, and expedite a project?  Ask Jonathan Cain and Wayne Sides.  Cain gathered 0ver 100 quilts and the history of this craft, now art, for exhibit in From These Threads… Sides becomes our Stepping Stone this issue in Wayne Sides:  An Artist Working.  An artist himself, Sides has initiated exhibits, events, and Artist Gatherings for many years.  The planning and execution of events requires the “p” word in large doses.  What does it take to navigate health challenges?

Ask Dr. Joyce Brown, in Balancing the Odds with Optimism and Charlie Johnson, in Chiari Malformation: How it Changed My Life, and you will hear about the resilience and, yes, patience it takes to stand strong in spite and because of.  The Vibration of Patience, by M. LaRae, shares how to shift energy for steering through patience.

The who, what and whys of patience are explored by Dr. Robert Gerard, in The Virtue of Patience, Susan Peters, in Patience Virtue or Value, Rev. Dr. Robert Yarbrough, in Patience – The Capacity, Habit, or Being Patient, and Rev. Carol Landry, in Patience or Divine Timing.

In The Beauty of Bonsai…Dr. Clark Mueller shares his journey of discovery and practice of this ancient gardening art form.  And art finds its way to practicing patience and resulting in the mosaics of Jacques P. Jackson, the watercolors of Jonathan Kwerigy Aggrey in Telling Stories…, the varied mediums and words of Sena Tues, creating Art of Our Times, and Oluwasegun Adeogun Owa in Wearable Art…

Tekla Syers and Frank Malaba wear so many hats in their lives that Garden Spices is fortunate to experience them as poets in Sometimes I Wait by Syers  and Malaba’s Autumn is Here. Both exemplify the virtuous wait.

Great food and ambiance with Janis Gipson

We don’t want to wait to eat,  but it takes patience to create menus and fare for upcoming holidays.  Sarin Basley gives us Thai Stir fried Chicken and Cashews and in Caribbean Kitchen, Julies Gibs gives us a Caribbean Thanksgiving.  Guess who came to dinner with Janis Gipson?  We reveled in the new venture of Mi Casa, Su Casa – Janis is making meals!  Yes, patience is required.  We’re talkin’ all cuisine from Chef Janis, including Vegan.

Speaking of light, the months November and December find almost every spiritual tradition or culture celebrating a holiday – Al-Hija, Baha’u’llah, Bodhi Day, Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Songkran, to name a few. Every year we call attention to all traditions, and akin to our mission, Garden Spices wishes to see the light within us all.

Open the Garden Gate!

Vicki Goldston aka, Victorine CEO, Camp Goldston Publishing, LLC, Founder, Editor-in-Chief GARDEN SPICES MAGAZINE