You Put Your Whole Self In and You Shake it All About

What if you really put your whole self into neighboring?

Not the polite wave. Not the occasional “let me know if you need anything.” But the kind of neighboring where you lean in far enough to actually discover the person living ten steps from your front door.

Living near someone is geography. Knowing someone is a choice.

And when you make that choice, something surprising happens: you begin to notice things you would have otherwise missed — small habits, routines, and sometimes wonderfully unusual passions.

That was the case in a heart-warming story shared by Steve Hartman on CBS.

In one ordinary neighborhood lived an elderly woman whose joy in life could be summed up in three words: the hokey pokey.

She loved the song. Not casually. Not nostalgically. But wholeheartedly.

She played it often. She sang it loudly. And whenever it came on, she didn’t just listen — she danced.

Now, it would have been easy for neighbors to dismiss this as quirky background noise. The kind of thing people smile about from a distance but never step into. After all, modern neighborhoods often operate on a silent agreement: be kind, be brief, and don’t get involved.

But one neighbor decided to get involved.

Instead of staying politely detached, she crossed the invisible boundary line between houses and entered into the woman’s joy. She learned the song. She showed up. She danced along. Arms out. Foot in. Whole self.

And that changed everything.

What began as a simple act of kindness became a relationship. Conversations grew longer. Laughter became common. The elderly neighbor — once just “the lady who plays that song” — became a person with a story, memories, humor, and a deep capacity for friendship.

In the process, the younger neighbor discovered something important: she thought she was doing a good deed, but she was actually receiving a gift.

Because neighboring is rarely a one-way exchange. Service turns into connection. Connection turns into belonging.

The opportunities around us are as numerous as our neighbors — chances to help, to listen, to learn, and sometimes to dance to a song we never would have chosen ourselves.

And that’s the lesson of the hokey pokey.

You don’t experience the magic by standing on the sidewalk analyzing it. You experience it by stepping into the circle.

You put your whole self in — and that’s what it’s all about.

In this heart-warming story from Steve Hartman (CBS) we learn about the hokey pokey and what happened when one neighbor decided to embrace her elderly neighbor's love for the song. See the video here.

WRITTEN BY

David L. Burton

Take the Engaged Neighbor pledge and become part of a movement! The pledge outlines five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge at https://nomoregoodneighbors.com. Individuals who take the pledge do get special invitations to future events online and in person. Contact the blog author, David L. Burton via email at dburton541@yahoo.com.