Kindness in the New Year

Happy New Year! Yes, it is a little late, but I hope all of you enjoyed the holiday. As you know, one of the symbols of the New Year celebration is a baby.  Did you know that the origin of “Baby New Year” can be traced to Greece and Egypt as early as 600 B.C.? Using a baby during the celebration symbolizes the ‘birth’ of the new year and the ‘passing’ of the prior year.¹ It suggests that with each new year, we have a chance to “reset” things or “start over fresh,” correcting or changing things that might have not been ideal in the previous year. But how do we go about that even if we have the chance? There is an old story about the “Little New Year,” and how he was able to accomplish just that.

It was a cold and snowy night when a young boy heard a knock at his window. When he was finally awake enough to realize what was happening, he opened the window to see what was going on. Much to his surprise, there was a little boy outside who said that he was the “Little New Year,” and he was here to bring a blessing to everyone. Unfortunately, he was so small that he needed some help to accomplish his task and asked the older boy help him. Reluctantly, the older boy dressed and rushed out to see what he was being asked to do. The Little New Year was trying to pull a loaded cart with the word “Love” written on one side and “Kindness” written on the other side, and he asked the older boy to help pull the cart.

After they had been pulling the cart for a distance, the older boy saw they were approaching an old shack that appeared to be abandoned. The Little New Year said there was a poor man inside who needed his help. The older boy helped unload clothing, firewood, and food to place on the porch of the shack. Shortly, an older man came to the door, saw the blessings that had been left for him, and was overjoyed to see the gifts.

The two continued their trip before stopping at the home of a poor little girl who had been very ill. They unloaded gifts for her that made her and her family very happy. The two boys continued through the night, visiting other places and leaving blessings everywhere they went. After a while, the older boy noticed something strange: no matter how many blessings they gave away, the cart never seemed to get any emptier. The Little New Year explained that there is never an end to love and kindness, no matter how much you give away. The older boy then decided that he would spend his new year trying to share love and blessings with everyone. The Little New Year assured him that if he did so, he—as well as those to whom he gave—would be happy all year. From that time on, the older boy worked to make his New Year a happy one for as many as he could, just like the Little New Year had showed him.²

As we go through our New Year, I hope that we all will take the opportunity to spread love and kindness to everyone we can. As we manage our patients, we can truly make a difference in their lives in ways beyond just helping their wounds heal. I challenge you to try your best to “empty your cart of love and kindness” this year, and see how many of those blessings come back to you.