Guideposts January 2017

January means new things are in store, and I have two very exciting ones to share. So stop packing away those Christmas ornaments for a minute and let me tell you. Living Longer, Living Better What’s the difference between wellness and well-being? Wellness concerns the body. Well-being encompasses body, mind and soul. Well-being is the gravity that holds our lives together and centers us in purposeful, faith-filled living. Our editorial series for 2017, Living Longer, Living Better, features inspiring and informative stories by people who face challenges to their health—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual—and make changes in their lives to improve their long-term well-being. These challenges can happen at any phase of life and come in many guises, some so subtle we barely recognize them at first and others so…

Praying With Dr. King To honor Martin Luther King, Jr., in the month of his birth, Bob Hostetler, a guideposts.org blogger, shares inspiring prayers composed by the Baptist preacher and civil-rights leader. guideposts.org/mlkprayers Inspiration 2017 Start the New Year on an up note. Check out these surefire motivational quotes at guideposts.org/nyquotes New Year’s Traditions Near and Far From the ball dropping in Times Square to a heaping helping of black-eyed peas, Americans have many traditions for ringing in the New Year. Find out how others greet the New Year around the world. guideposts.org/nytraditions A Dog Named Daisy Lori Raineri (page 10) introduces us to her dog, Daisy, whose intelligence and calm demeanor helped her become a comfort dog for crime victims. guideposts.org/daisydog…

“Of course it’s not possible to experience constant euphoria, but if you’re grateful you can find happiness in everything.” PHARRELL WILLIAMS, who produced and composed the music for the inspirational movie Hidden Figures “It is never right to do wrong, and never wrong to do right.” submitted by Guideposts reader RUBY MIKICH, of Memphis, Tennessee “Failure is part of the process. It’s an opportunity to start over again more wisely.” from the book The Power of Broke, by DAYMOND JOHN, Shark Tank cohost “Don’t be sad that it’s over. Smile because it happened. And that’s really the way I feel about this remarkable opportunity I was given.” VIN SCULLY, the legendary Los Angeles Dodgers’ radio announcer, in his final broadcast before retiring last fall, after 67 years “God writes straight with crooked…

DELIVERING WARMTH I’ve been an obstetrician for more than 20 years, and I love my job. I also have an artistic side; my own oil paintings are hanging in the office. On a trip to the art-supply store in 2010, I saw a book called Hat Heads. The author, Trond Anfinnsen, taught himself to knit and made beanies for his friends. I thought my teenaged kids might like it. I gave it to them for Christmas, and our whole family spent the day knitting. I made a small beanie to practice. It happened to be the perfect size for a newborn. I gave it to the next baby I delivered. The new mom was delighted. My own mother would paintangels on beach stones and give them away as a random…

There’s a jewish concept that Lori Raineri tries to live by: tikkun olam. It means repair the world, do what you can to make it a better place. Lori’s a doer. Type A squared. So even picking out a new puppy at the shelter that day in 2006, she was looking for more than a pet to keep her company. The Davis, California, resident is single. No kids. When her two senior dogs died, she couldn’t help but think of how their lives had touched only hers. “I want a dog that helps other people,” she told a friend who’d come with her. “Have you heard about the therapy dogs they use in hospitals?” her friend, who’s a nurse, said. “They comfort patients. Children especially love them.” Wonderful. Tikkun olam.…

Do you remember that marvelous night last summer when floodlights blazed in New York Bay and the Statue of Liberty emerged from the darkness, lovingly restored, golden torch held high, fireworks sparkling around her? I heard of one little boy, watching on TV, who said, “She’s trying to say something.” Perhaps she was. If the Lady Withthe Lamp could speak a single word, I think I know what that word would be: hope. Hope is what she offered to the millions of immigrants who came to these shores yearning for a better life. And hope is what she still symbolizes today. Hope. As a new year comes to all of us, what better companion could we have? Hope is a dynamic force, a concept full of power. It can bring…