Perception...

As many of you know, great changes and upheaval have been the norm for me in these last months. What has gotten me through it all is the overwhelming support from you for what was.....and what may yet be. Gourmet Girl Magazine.com was a wonderful adventure and lifestyle, and my time with Elaine and you have been some of the most poignant and memorable times of my life. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for your continued loyalty and support. Truly in life, the only constant is change and through the changes going on in my life now, I have learned the lesson of perception. Perception of myself, the world around me, those whom I thought were friends, and those who have remained as such.

I have long known and preached that the world, and how we experience it, is either limited or expanded, solely by how we perceive ourselves and what goes on around us. We humans are amazing creatures. We can achieve, or not achieve. The choice is ours alone. Gourmet Girl Magazine was a perfect example of that process. We experienced and achieved that which noone said could done, in a very short time.

"But Lou"',  you may say, "since you closed the site and it no longer exists, doesn't that mean it failed?" Ahhh, therein lies the magic of perception.

You see, it did not fail, we did, Elaine and I. The site was a huge success and will always remain a classy, well thought out online magazine that brought joy to many of us. Together with you, we explored so many fantastic topics and cuisines. We spoke to many great people, enjoyed many great meals and you our readers came along with us. We were able to give back to charities and people that really mattered.

Did we make much money? No, we closed it out prior to realizing that part of it. I guess, based upon today's standards, since I did not make the 'almighty dollar' and have 'the very best things,' I along with the public, considered that a failure. For quite a while, I believed that of myself. Until now.

You see, recently, I had a conversation with one of my celebrity chef friends. He made me see what a wonderful thing it was that we achieved. He reminded me of all the good we did, all the people we helped, all the joy we brought to tens of thousands of you. And he made me see that I am not defined by my success or failures, I am defined by my heart, my intent and who I am in the quiet places of my life. He encouraged me to take another chance, let my light shine again and redefine the world by changing how I was looking at it.

So....., I start today with this post. I invite you all to be a voyeur on this new journey of mine. I will be re-launching GourmetGirlMagazine.com as GourmetGuyMagazine.com. I'm not sure when, frankly, I'm not sure how. It sure would make a great reality TV show, like Phoenix rising from the ashes.. After all, who doesn't love a good underdog story?

I start today. I start here. I will begin to write again. I will allow myself to feel again. I may even learn how to love myself again. But no matter what happens, I know this: I have begun to experience again, the joy that this wonderful world has to offer and how fun it is to share it with you.

After all.. it's only a matter of perception....

Bon Apetit!