Editorial: Happy Spring!
You’ll notice—when you have the April issue in your hands—that the magazine doesn’t look quite the way it did last month. Welcome to your newly redesigned Good Times. (Feel free to go exploring—I’ll be here when you get back.)
Spring, that most life-affirming time of the year, is almost upon us, a time of new beginnings and rebirth. It’s the perfect time to throw open the windows and air the place out, to clean, polish, buff, dust, blow away the odd cobweb, and perhaps even shift some of the furniture to create a more comfortable living space or add a new piece or two. A fresh coat of paint, perhaps in a bright new colour, can make a world of difference. So we rolled up our sleeves and set about doing our own spring cleaning and a bit of redecorating. We hope you like the results as much as we do.
The season of rebirth also brings us Passover and Easter, both times for reflection, for looking back, looking inward, and looking forward with hope. The 40 days of Lent that precede Easter, famous for the giving up of things we enjoy but know we shouldn’t eat quite so much of anyway (I used to tease my parents that I was giving up Venezuelan beaver cheese), are supposed to be less about weight-watching than about a spring cleaning of the self. Are there any rooms within that need to be decluttered or that cry out for a fresh coat of paint? Any furniture you’d be better off without? Lent is the time to identify the things in your life you could stand to get rid of or the things you could add that would brighten up your days—and perhaps the days of those around you.
I’ll admit to seeing the logic of New Year’s resolutions—a fresh start for a new year—but they’ve always struck me as feeble, too arbitrary to take root and make a real difference. Easter, though, is essentially a time for rebirth, to start anew, not a time of year but a moment in life to throw open the windows and breathe fresh air. I hope we all like the results.