Spring is nearly here. In ancient Chinese tradition, the three months of spring symbolize the beginning of all life. As the Nei Ching relates, "The breaths of Heaven and Earth are prepared to give birth; thus everything is developing and flourishing. Spring is the time of the beginning of the creation of all living beings…"

This issue of Alaska Wellness looks at birth and all the fears and joys that accompany this most awesome rite of passage. We have included some poetry and fiction this issue, and invite readers to submit their own creative works for publication.

The issue also announces the birth of publisher Jackie Kosednar's book, One Miracle After Another. It is the story of her son, Toby Wood, and the long struggle with cancer that transformed a family from accepting the traditional Western model of medicine into questioning the medical paradigm, moving outside that paradigm and, finally, utilizing a variety of alternative health methods to heal. In many ways, this is the birth story of how Alaska Wellness came into being.

It wasn't long after I first met Jackie -- nearly six years ago -- that she asked if I'd be interested in reading her book. Glancing at the four-inch thick manuscript, I nodded politely and wondered what I had got myself into. Later that night, with the bulk of weighty papers balanced on my lap, I began to read. After only a few pages I was hooked, thoroughly amazed at the terrifying though profoundly deep journey that Jackie and her family had undertook. I read the manuscript nearly straight through, only to be stopped abruptly by an ending that wasn't there. What happened? When I called Jackie, she told me she couldn't write the ending. There was nothing to work from, she said -- she had no notes, only retreating memories and lingering heartache.

Some aspects of inner birth are difficult. We may become stuck. At those points, we are often required to clear away the old obstacles, to face our fears with consciousness and move through them before that which desires expression can come fully forward. Our personal stories may need to rage within until they are ready to emerge. Or maybe we need to cry; not just for a day, but for years. Sometimes the tide of emotions bringing forth creative energy is overwhelming and all we want to do is run away and hide, mostly from ourselves. Then again, sometimes we turn only to find that the more we fight, the further we distance ourselves from that which we most need to hear.

Birth has many faces. Perhaps one of the most profound keys to birthing awareness -- in the world, in ourselves -- is to feel the flow. At times we need to push; at other times we need to rest; and still other times all we can do is surrender and ride the swell. But in all cases we need to feel -- to feel deeply, in our bones, in our blood, in our heart and in our soul. There we wait, ready to welcome ourselves home.