SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

This year I am particularly receptive to them. We are in anticipation of the New Year and there are activities going on all the time. We are listening to Christmas carols, making cards and decorations and preparing presents. It is all this that makes this time of year particularly special for me, but unfortunately I have been ill this year. Nobody likes to be away sick, not even me. I came down with a fever and a bad cough. I was lying at home, wrapped in a blanket and in silence, the complete opposite of the bustle of December at work. 

After a few days of rest, I received a text message from my colleague Tania, asking me how I was. The message warmed my heart. I wrote her back briefly, saying that I was not feeling well because it was December. As a result, I feel as if life is passing me by while I am stuck at home with tissues and tea and a constant cough. After a few moments, she asked me for my address. I asked her, a little surprised, why she needed it, and she just said: »I would have left something outside your door«.«

The evening before was St Nicholas Day. In our region, this day is a beautiful and warm tradition, full of children's joy, parklings, bells and anticipation. I slept through this year's events, exhausted and without strength. Another tiny piece of December magic that I unfortunately missed due to illness.

I messaged her my address, and then almost forgot about the whole thing. A good half an hour later, the doorbell rang. At first I thought it was just me. Then again. I slowly got dressed, then, feeling a little dizzy and with a considerable headache retrieved from to the door. I opened it and there stood Tanja. She was holding a bag in her hands and she had that warm, genuine smile on her face that doesn't need many words.

»Look,« he says, »St Nicholas left something for you. Say hello quickly.« Before I can say anything, she hands me the bag.

I closed the door and opened the bag. Inside were two bottles of freshly squeezed orange juice. So simple. So ordinary. And yet, at that moment, priceless to me. Not because of the juice, but because of the feeling that someone is thinking of you and that you are not alone. 

It was then that the realisation sank in even deeper how little it really takes to brighten someone's day; a small gesture, a short visit, a little attention. As Maya Angelou says: »People will forget what you said and did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.«

There was nothing luxurious in Tania's bag, but it was full of human warmth. And it is this warmth that sometimes heals even more than medicine. Mutual help is not always loud and clear. It is often quiet, modest and almost imperceptible. But that is precisely why it is so valuable.

Maja Grošelj, 16. 12. 2025