A Year of Gentle Attention | New Year Message 2026 | Rev Wadigala Samitharathana

As a new year begins, we are often encouraged to do more, be more, and strive harder. This short reflection offers a different invitation. In this New Year message, we explore the practice of gentle attention—cultivating compassion, setting intentions without excess ambition, and staying alert and aware to the life unfolding before us. Rather than resolutions driven by pressure, we are invited into a year shaped by loving-kindness, friendship, and awareness. May this reflection support a steady, mindful beginning to the year ahead. With mettā, Oxford Buddhist Society 🙏