Neighbors

pucciManuli, a charming toy store in Ardmore, PA, reminds us that October 2 is National Good Neighbor Day. The kind folks at pucciManuli recently shared this lovely Welsh proverb: “A little among neighbors is worth more than riches in a wilderness.”

I believe that the “neighbors” in my life are any of the people whose lives intersect with mine. We have the opportunity each day to be kind to our neighbors. Life is short, but full of joy and sorrow, as well as beauty and ashes. For me, much of the joy and the beauty of life is found in sharing with other people.

In my work with people who are grieving, I am often moved by how a community of broken- hearted people is quickly formed. People who share their grief and their sorrow with other grieving people are forming a neighborhood of sorts. They are sharing and bearing one another’s sorrows, thus lightening one another’s burdens. In the wilderness of grief, it sometimes feels impossible to connect with anyone else. Sharing your heart with someone who is grieving, as well as inviting them to share their sorrow with you, is an important way of helping a neighbor.

Flowers and casseroles are important and helpful, but so is that gentle visit inviting your
neighbor to share with you the story of their loss. Bonds are formed when broken hearts share their sorrow. Many people feel uncomfortable inviting a person who has recently suffered the loss of a loved one to share their feelings. But when sorrows are shared, deep bonds of friendship often emerge.

I invite you to be present for a neighbor who then might feel safe enough to be vulnerable with you. You may find that you both enjoy a fleeting moment of joy or beauty. You may even lighten their burden for a time, as neighbors often do.

As Fred Rogers said, “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you may be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person. “