It’s early in 2026. A new year filled with possibility. The beginning of any year is often also filled with optimism, the creation of goals and more.

The Christmas holiday period is one I really enjoy. I usually like to stay home. I am a member of the Jewish faith, but I enjoy this period. It’s a time for quiet reflection, connecting with family and friends and enjoying some time unplugged from work. I also like to celebrate the deep meaning Christmas has for my Christian family, friends and patients. It is a special time of year.

My Christmas tradition is Chinese food and a movie — not to order in and watch at home, but to go out to a movie theater and eat at a Chinese restaurant. In Calgary, many in the Chinese community are Buddhists, so they are happy to stay open and be busy. And boy are they busy. When we go, we see so many other members of the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist communities, and I always bump into many people I know well. It’s a great opportunity to gather and be with friends. It is surprisingly warm and a tradition I enjoy.

This year we saw the movie “Wicked: For Good.” It is the sequel to last year’s exceptional musical “Wicked” — the two movies being a backstory about the good and wicked witches portrayed in “The Wizard of Oz,” (the amazing movie musical from 1939 that started in black and white and then switched to full color, a revolution in filmmaking at the time). 

In that movie, near the end, the character of the wicked witch, Elphaba, says, “We can’t let ‘good’ be just a word. It has to mean something.” That line had a profound impact on me. It’s a phrase I cannot stop thinking about.

It is 2026. Our world is in tremendous turmoil. We cannot control what happens “out there,” but we can control how we respond. And we need to respond by thinking of “good” as a verb. We need to do good things, think good thoughts and be good people.

First, we have the privilege of being in a healthcare profession that changes people’s lives every day. Take the time to say “thank you” to the patients who show up and let us care for them, for, without our patients, we would have nothing to do and no income to support our own families and the families of the people who work for/with us.

Second, connect with the community surrounding your clinic. What is happening in that community, and what can you and your team do to make that community better in the coming year?

Third, connect with your team. What would they like to see happen in 2026 that will make our world a better place locally, nationally or internationally? Then, find a way to rally the team and support the causes that mean the most to your team members.

Through it all, take pictures, post them on social media, and spread the good around the world. Because “good” can be more than just a word if we do our parts to make it mean something.

Happy 2026 to all our readers. May it bring us good health, peace and prosperity, and may all our dreams come true.

Larry Stanleigh