My father turned seventy last week. My mother held a birthday party for him at their home. She invited all his friends, had it catered, and provided the atmosphere that made for a great afternoon. During the course of the event, a neighbor (and now close friend) approached me. She wanted to express her gratitude for the help that my parents gave to her during a recent illness. In the course of our discussion she cried, and I realized not just the value of close friendships but also the value of being neighborly.
After my discussion with this neighbor, I became curious. I surveyed the guests that dotted the patio, and I realized most of them were neighbors to my parents. I recognized many of them not by name but by the various favors and assistance shared between them. There’s the man who helped dad move the five-hundred pound safe. There’s the woman whom mom pet-sits for.
Too often we forget, or neglect, the relationships with our neighbors. We become comfortable with the nests we call home and rarely interact with the other nests that touch our property lines. We are like little birds, flying off to work then returning home; insulated by our own concerns and responsibilities. We limit our neighborly connections to salutations and rarely give a second thought to other, more meaningful, connections. It seems selfish to some degree.
The party made me think about where I live and my relationship to my neighbors. I live in a building where seventy percent of the inhabitants are never home because their apartments are not their primary residences. Those that do live in the building full-time extend courtesies when needed (with a few exceptions). Still, the comparison I made between my situation and my parents was clearly different. Their community seemed more cohesive and attuned to a greater good found in the word neighbor.
The gratitude expressed by that neighbor for my parents’ help is undoubtedly worth more than a bank full of money. Inside it, there is an infinite wealth not solely for the person it is extended to but also to the community where it comes from.
Think about a favor that has been extended by either a neighbor or complete stranger. The reach of that hand is longer and wider than any dollar bill.
Copyright © Tyler Gant 2009
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