Today marks the Feast of the Epiphany. It falls on the twelfth day after Christmas and is the religious observance of the three kings, or wise men, visiting the infant Jesus. It marks the end of the holiday season and the start of a collective optimism being put forward for a better New Year.

A wise woman I know, my mother, once gave me a little book called Up Words for Down Days. It’s filled with philosophical quotes and funny ones. I thought I’d share some of the comments on health from the book. The author, Allen Klein, gives this definition of health, “freedom from disease or abnormality,” to kick off the category.

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly. -- Buddha

To be healthy, wealthy, happy and successful in any and all areas of your life you need to be aware that you need to think healthy, wealthy, happy and successful thoughts twenty-four hours a day and cancel all negative, destructive, fearful and unhappy thoughts. These two types of thought cannot coexist if you want to share in the abundance that surrounds us all. -- Sidney Madwed

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. -- Mark Twain

It’s no longer a question of staying healthy. It’s a question of finding a sickness you like. -- Jackie Mason

My doctor said I look like a million dollars--green and wrinkled. -- Red Skelton

He’s turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he’s miserable and depressed. -- David Frost

The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love. -- Hubert Humphrey

The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven. -- John Milton

The power to heal is in you, and nonetheless there is a tendency in our culture to project onto other people and to want them to heal us. -- Andrew Weil