I love the New Year. I’ve always seen it in, with wonderful family and / or friends, even though, yes, it’s just a date on the calendar. I don’t care. And this year will be a quiet one, though I’m still intending to be up at midnight, come what may. In the past, I’ve always wished a fabulous, peaceful, hopeful, joyous or prosperous New Year to my friends and family. But this year, with the world and times we live in, my wish for everyone is that 2025 is kind to you.

We are always taught to be kind, but what does that mean? In Spanish, we can say amable or generoso or bueno, and though these words do convey the fundamentals of the word in English, it is only if you combine them all, and more besides, otherwise they don’t encapsulate its heart. Not totally, for me at least. And I don’t know if I can fully define how I see it. But I’m going to try.

My Mum was the epitome of kindness. She wasn’t perfect in every way, of course not, none of us are, but she taught us all (her four children) to try to be kind, even when it was difficult for us. To try to put ourselves in other people’s shoes. To forgive petty differences. To think of others first.

If you are kind, you don’t wage war. You don’t consciously hurt others.

If you are kind, you give of yourself without wishing for reward, you give to help, to bring happiness, to show someone they are valued. Your time, a spontaneous call, a helping hand…

If you are kind, you are aware of others. You are not self-obsessed. You try not to judge. It’s extremely difficult, but with kindness, we take a step.

If you are kind, you are gentle. Gentle meaning polite, respectful, considerate. And gentle as the opposite of aggressive, of belligerent.

We can’t, in our individual lives, be kind in all these ways all the time, (you’d have to be a saint,) nor may we wish to be. We may feel anger, we may only be able to deal with our own circumstances and have no space for other distractions. We may simply need to find ways to survive. So I don’t mean that we can always be looking out for others before ourselves, it’s just not the way the world works. But we can try to spare a thought for others before we speak or act. Or act without sparing a thought for ourselves.

We can try to be kind.

So what about that as a New Year’s Resolution? Being kind in the little things in our lives. Maybe it’s a drop in the ocean. Small kindnessess may not change the world, but they can change our lives; the lives of those who give and of those who receive the kindess. Wouldn’t the world, just maybe, have a chance to be a better place?

A very happy, peaceful and kind New Year to all. Let’s try.