Words of Wellness

A Collection of Wise Gleanings

by Lorrie Klosterman and illustrations by Annie Internicola, February 25, 2011

Collected here are some of the many enriching and insightful comments made by interviewees during my years as contributing editor of the Whole Living section. (The articles from which these were taken, and other articles graced with wise and entertaining input, are available at www.Chronogram.com.) I have recently moved to California, from whence I came, so it is with fondness that I bid adieu to our readers and supporters, and to Chronogram’s inspiring creators and contributors, who charmed my Hudson Valley experience immeasurably.


“Every time we have an elder as a guest, they get the first meal and the best seat. There is a very real reverence for the elderly in the kids who have grown up with this. We are told to respect our elders, but you have to see it modeled or it’s not going to happen.”
—Esperanza Gonzales, in “Sisterhood for the Greater Good: Mentoring Girls into Empowered Women” (3/10)

“The danger in this wired-up society is that it’s so easy to reduce everything to academics and your computer, and lose sight of the arts, theater, music, community service—any of those things that give life richness and depth. It’s important not to lose those. More and more that’s something we have to teach, because kids can really lose their way from finding their inner calling, their voice. That voice is a precious guidance system toward a life of personal fulfillment.”
—Jim Handlin, in “Help, I’m Stuck in Overwhelm: Too Much Stuff, Too Little Time” (7/10)

“We’ve forgotten how to take care of ourselves when we’re sick. You can take the painkiller and go to work, but you’re infecting people around you and you get sicker by not redirecting the immune system to the appropriate place. You need to know how to convalesce. Nature conserves its energy. We should bring that message home: when you come home with a scratchy throat, what’s your body saying to you? Lie down, and rest, because the body’s trying to heal itself.”
—Jennifer Costa, in “Flu Shot Frenzy: Life without the Vaccine” (12/04)

“The dads or partners gain a respect for what the mother can do, and it creates a tremendous bond that helps in the parenting role later. Often I’ll have the partner catch the baby. I had a dad who just fell on his knees weeping with the power of that life force coming into his hands.”
—Mary Riley, in “Delivery by Doula: Reclaiming the Empowering Birth Experience” (4/06)