Kindness And Compassion Are New Year’s Resolutions Worth Keeping
By J. Basil Dannebohm As the calendar once again turns over, many of us find ourselves looking back on the last year, sometimes with regret. Though healthy reflection can be a good thing, it’s important to remember the lessons, not the disappointments. If we could erase all the mistakes of our past, we would lose the wisdom gained from our experiences. What’s done is done. It’s okay to look back, but never let the past stop you from moving forward. This is also a time when people make resolutions for the year ahead. Some of us will resolve to lose weight, exercise more, or eat healthier. Others will commit to expanding their knowledge. We live in an age where far too many people are so caught up in toning and shaping their bodies that they forget to tone and shape their character. One can go to the gym, hydrate, and eat a well-balanced diet, but if you ignore your mental and spiritual health there stands a good chance that next year around this time, you’ll still feel empty. Likewise, while broadening one’s horizons is an admirable pursuit, as the adage goes, “A person’s most useful asset is not a head full of knowledge, but a heart full of love, an ear ready to listen, and a hand willing to help others.” Most of the resolutions that are made at the beginning of January fall by the wayside before March. Perhaps it’s because many of them are frivolously aimed at self-gratification? But in the grand scheme of things, it’s not about who you impress. It’s about who you impact. Russian aristocrat-turned-anarchist Peter Kropotkin once observed, “Competition is the law of the jungle, but cooperation is the law of civilization.” Yet because of our primal instincts, we live in a hyper-competitive society. We tirelessly strive to keep up with the Joneses. At the end of the year, what do we have to show for it? Copious amounts of debt, lack of self-esteem, lifestyles of absurd excess, and mental health issues in abundance. Then New Year’s Eve rolls around, and many of us fester in regret only to start the entire process all over again the next day. Very few among us truly have it easy. Everyone has issues. Life happens. None of us can ever fully know what our neighbors are going through. Yet far too many of us rush to assume, judge, mock, and criticize others. In his book, “Anna Karenina,” Leo Tolstoy writes, “If it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.” Imagine if all those different minds agreed to be just a little bit kinder and more compassionate as a universal New Years’ resolution. Kindness is a willingness to loan someone your strength instead of reminding them of their weakness. In the year ahead, consider letting your compassion be wide enough to embrace the many hearts of those whose experiences and struggles might be unfamiliar to you: the shut-ins, the sick, the single parent, the immigrant, the widow or widower, the homesick college student, the veteran, the first responder. Consider carving out a little time to make a phone call, send a handwritten letter, or a little thoughtful item to someone in your community. If you’re an extrovert, invite someone out for a cup of coffee or take an overlooked friend to lunch. Even the simplest act can make a meaningful impact. For example, if you see an acquaintance at the grocery store, say hello and genuinely inquire about how that person is doing. Smile and greet the stranger you pass on the street. When you see something beautiful in someone, tell them. While it only takes a moment, the impact could last a lifetime. Who knows? It might even save a life. In a 2012 Commencement Address at Syracuse College, screenwriter and playwright Aaron Sorkin said, “Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the human spirit – things that are easy, things that are free, things that you can do every day: Civility, respect, kindness, character.” Indeed, all that really matters is how we treat each other. When the year ahead draws to a close, don’t measure it by how much weight you lost or how many books you read. Measure it by the hearts you’ve touched, the smiles you created, and the love you shared. Kindness is a resolution worth keeping. J. Basil Dannebohm is a writer, speaker, consultant, and former legislator. His website is www.dannebohm.com. He is a registered Independent.
Black News 
As the calendar once again turns over, many of us find ourselves looking back on the last year, sometimes with regret. Though healthy reflection can be a good thing, it’s important to remember the lessons, not the disappointments. If we could erase all the mistakes of our past, we would lose the wisdom gained from our experiences. What’s done is done. It’s okay to look back, but never let the past stop you from moving forward.
This is also a time when people make resolutions for the year ahead. Some of us will resolve to lose weight, exercise more, or eat healthier. Others will commit to expanding their knowledge.
We live in an age where far too many people are so caught up in toning and shaping their bodies that they forget to tone and shape their character. One can go to the gym, hydrate, and eat a well-balanced diet, but if you ignore your mental and spiritual health there stands a good chance that next year around this time, you’ll still feel empty.
Likewise, while broadening one’s horizons is an admirable pursuit, as the adage goes, “A person’s most useful asset is not a head full of knowledge, but a heart full of love, an ear ready to listen, and a hand willing to help others.”
Most of the resolutions that are made at the beginning of January fall by the wayside before March. Perhaps it’s because many of them are frivolously aimed at self-gratification? But in the grand scheme of things, it’s not about who you impress. It’s about who you impact.
Russian aristocrat-turned-anarchist Peter Kropotkin once observed, “Competition is the law of the jungle, but cooperation is the law of civilization.”
Yet because of our primal instincts, we live in a hyper-competitive society. We tirelessly strive to keep up with the Joneses. At the end of the year, what do we have to show for it? Copious amounts of debt, lack of self-esteem, lifestyles of absurd excess, and mental health issues in abundance. Then New Year’s Eve rolls around, and many of us fester in regret only to start the entire process all over again the next day.
Very few among us truly have it easy. Everyone has issues. Life happens. None of us can ever fully know what our neighbors are going through. Yet far too many of us rush to assume, judge, mock, and criticize others.
In his book, “Anna Karenina,” Leo Tolstoy writes, “If it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.”
Imagine if all those different minds agreed to be just a little bit kinder and more compassionate as a universal New Years’ resolution.
Kindness is a willingness to loan someone your strength instead of reminding them of their weakness.
In the year ahead, consider letting your compassion be wide enough to embrace the many hearts of those whose experiences and struggles might be unfamiliar to you: the shut-ins, the sick, the single parent, the immigrant, the widow or widower, the homesick college student, the veteran, the first responder. Consider carving out a little time to make a phone call, send a handwritten letter, or a little thoughtful item to someone in your community. If you’re an extrovert, invite someone out for a cup of coffee or take an overlooked friend to lunch.
Even the simplest act can make a meaningful impact. For example, if you see an acquaintance at the grocery store, say hello and genuinely inquire about how that person is doing. Smile and greet the stranger you pass on the street. When you see something beautiful in someone, tell them. While it only takes a moment, the impact could last a lifetime. Who knows? It might even save a life.
In a 2012 Commencement Address at Syracuse College, screenwriter and playwright Aaron Sorkin said, “Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the human spirit – things that are easy, things that are free, things that you can do every day: Civility, respect, kindness, character.”
Indeed, all that really matters is how we treat each other.
When the year ahead draws to a close, don’t measure it by how much weight you lost or how many books you read. Measure it by the hearts you’ve touched, the smiles you created, and the love you shared. Kindness is a resolution worth keeping.
J. Basil Dannebohm is a writer, speaker, consultant, and former legislator. His website is www.dannebohm.com. He is a registered Independent.
