Who Lives Next Door?
Knock Knock!! "Who is there?"
Do you know who lives next door? Do you really know who they are, how they are or anything at all about them.?
When the children were young we met many neighbors through school and sporting groups. We were actively involved on committees and organizing various events for sporting or social groups. Eventually the kids grow up and move away. They begin to form new connections in a different area forging their own lives in their respective communities.
Meanwhile the old folks are still in the original home and they no longer have all those connections with the local school and sporting groups. It is so easy to drift away from the earlier connections as all your friends become involved with the changing lives of their children and the arrival of grand children.
Meanwhile the people around us can easily be forgotten and become isolated from each other. This past year we attended 7 funerals of people we felt were good friends. But it was through the eulogies that we really learned about who these people were. We learned all the things they had done throughout their lives, their achievements, their contributions to local community, their families and much more.
It struck me that although we had been friends for a long time, we did not really know them and now it was too late. Now many of us still living in this local area are aging and our time to connect is getting shorter. I decided it was time to do something about getting to know the neighbors again. To get the ball rolling my hubby and I decided we would host a neighborhood picnic on our property.
I got on Canva and printed out an invitation then visited each neighbor one by one. The reception was very positive but I felt ashamed when I learned my closest neighbor had been in hospital with pneumonia and another had been extremely ill. I had been working on building a website about depression and all around me were people who needed someone to check in and ask "are you OK?"
This coming Saturday is Australia Day and so that was the day chosen for the picnic with neighbors. I am hoping we will be able to make it a more regular event and stay in touch with the people around us. Perhaps you might have a significant day you could use to reconnect with your neighbors too. I am really looking forward to Saturdays picnic.
Just before I leave I will share you with a link to another blog post I came across which is about this very same subject. The author has shared 15 ways to get to know your neighbor.
Recent Comments
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We can get so busy being busy, that we can let some of the important things slip by.
Reaching out to the folks that are around us can be rewarding for all concerned.
Thanks for sharing, Judy, that site on depression will go far.
Best wishes for a creative and successful year.
Have a great Aussie day, enjoy.
Alex
Thank you for your comments Alex. Have you seen Gary Turks video "Look up" It is worth watching on You Tube.
I have indeed and it is real food for thought, we are becoming trapped in a two-dimensional world when we are hard-wired to seek out a five-dimensional existence.
Great post, Judy.
Hi Judy,
Thank you - a great post.
In today's busy world one may see a neighbour rarely. We lived in a townhouse complex & with automatic doors installed a neighbour clicked the remote in the car - the garage door was raised - the car entered & the door closed. One may not see the next door neighbour for a considerable time.
I respect a persons privacy, however it is good to keep a lookout for unusual occurrences close by.
BTW - You profile said " way down south in Australia"
Do you mind if I ask where are you located?
Have a great Aus day - I will miss it being in Bangkok.
Denis
PS: The bread video was great!
Hi Denis, We are from Waratah Bay on the South Coast. It is a beautiful area. About 35 minutes from Wilsons Promontory. Where are you? Thank you for connecting and commenting
Yes, indeed you are in a beautiful area - I have been to the area. I am a Sydney boy, originally in the northern suburbs, now living about 30 klms out of Bangkok. My daughter & family + my younger son & his Thai wife live in Sydney.
I hope to "tune in" to the Tamworth Country Music Festival on Sunday 27th.
Have a Great Aus Day
Denis
Hi Freisia, what a great post.
We live and travel in a Motorhome full time and meet some awesome like minded people but sometimes we forget to introduce ourselves to others in the campgrounds that are doing the same. Me especially as I am caught up in Wealthy Affiliate.
I bet they all have great blog stories :-)
I would simply love to do what you are doing. We are both still flat out running two farms . When and if we retire I would like to do that right around the outback of Australia. It is as you say a great way to meet new people.
I loved your idea of reconnecting with your neighbors, is it so true, when children leave our house, we indeed have less connection with people, I know few people in my neighbor, but it is difficult to keep the relationship because many of them are moving,
Jacqueline
Thank you Jacqueline. We do have to make a concerted effort. When something goes wrong we can be there for each other supporting and helping in whatever way is needed.
This is a very touching reminder. In the area where I live, people come and people go. Rarely do they take the time to know each other. Well, that is except for the older generation that didn't move around a lot.
Thank you for your comment . It is sad that we are failing to look out for each other. I think social media and the internet might have something to do with it. We live in a farming area so the population does not change very much especially with the older generation.
This was a good post. I live in a small community and neighbors live far apart, but I am very aware that each of us has a unique story and very often not too many people know it. A couple of years ago, I started interviewing local people and writing down their stories...took about a month for each post. I've done, I believe, 16 of them to date, and then WA kinda got in the way. It was amazing, though, what fascinating things I learned about the people I interviewed. We all have a story. Sharing it is a good thing.
I really like your idea of interviewing people and writing down their stories.
I need to consider doing that with some of the people that spent their entire lives in this area. That would also give them a chance to voice their sorrows about how much it has grown and how it isn't the same rural area anymore.
Your response was very inspirational. I love what you did in writing the stories of your neighbors. When we lived on an earlier property I met an old fellow, a bush man who had some fascinating stories to tell of his exploits and I do regret not recording them. He is gone now and the stories have gone with him.
Thank you for your contribution to this post.
See more comments
It's true that with the life we have,
sometimes we forget to look next to us,
to see if all is well with our neighbors.
I try to be there for others, but I must recognize
that our society is based on individualism.
We must try to change that, as you try so well
to do it,
Thanks for sharing
Ingrid
Thank you Babou. We need to be individuals within a conglomerate of other individuals. Like a jigsaw puzzle, one piece on its own might be individual but you don't get the full and perfect picture till its all fitted together.
Totally agree!!