The President's Christmas Greeting

The following is the Christmas greeting of our President and Chairman of the Board, Benjamin S. Paz, M.D., to everyone!

A very merry Christmas to you all.

This season of carols and Christmas trees is a time to take stock; a time to reflect on the events of the past year and to make resolutions for the new year ahead. This December, we are looking back not just on one year, but on the past 41 years of our hospital’s history. More than ever, we are aware of being a tiny part of the infinite sweep of time when we move from one era to another.

And as I look to the future, I have no doubt at all that the one certainty is change - and the pace of that change will only seem to increase.

This is true for all of us - young and old. I am struck by how the inevitability of change affects us all, and how different were my father's early years compared with those of my grandchildren.

For many of their generation, the future is a source of excitement, hope, and challenge. For others, however, the future is a cause of understandable anxiety. There are many, for example, of my age or among the more vulnerable in society who worry that they will be left behind. The sheer rate of change seems to be sweeping away so much that is familiar and comforting.

But I do not think that we should be over-anxious. We can make sense of the future - if we understand the lessons of the past. Winston Churchill said that "the farther backward you look, the farther forward you can see".

The many and varied events that have happened in the last 41 years of CLDH remind us of the importance of bringing the lessons of the past to bear on the aspirations for a better future.

To do this we need to draw from our history those constant and unchanging values which have stood the test of time and experience. Fairness and compassion, justice and tolerance; these are the landmarks from the past which can guide us through the years ahead.

These timeless values tell us, above all, about the way we should relate to people rather than to things; thinking of others, not just of ourselves.

The future is not only about new gadgets, modern technology, or the latest fashion, important as these may be. At the center of all our lives - today and tomorrow - must be the message of caring for others, the message at the heart of Christianity and of all the great religions.

This message - love thy neighbor as thyself - may be for Christians two thousand years old. But it is as relevant today as it ever was. I believe it gives us the guidance and the reassurance we need as we continue into the next 41 years.

I wish you all a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.