We Are Neighbors

Being an engaged neighbor often involves more than just a wave and saying hello to your neighbors. Learning and using the names of your neighbors is the next step.’ Now a Gallup study shows that American adults who regularly say hello to more than one person in their neighborhood have better well-being than those who say hello to fewer neighbors or none.   Americans’ well-being score increases steadily by the number of neighbors greeted, from 51.5 among those saying hello to zero neighbors to 64.1 for those greeting six neighbors. No meaningful increase in well-being is seen for additional neighbors greeted beyond six. These results were collected from the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index. The index is calculated on a scale of zero to 100, where zero represents the lowest possible well-being and 100 represents the highest possible well-being. The well-being metrics include: Career wellbeing: You like what you do every day. Social wellbeing: You have meaningful ...

  Community involvement is what makes a community, neighborhood or homeowners association successful. Increasing community involvement and engagement work go hand-in-hand. Without engagement, you cannot expect residents or members to be involved. Unfortunately, getting residents or members engaged and involved isn't always easy. It takes time, effort, and, most importantly, consistency.    When residents or members are engaged, they understand and agree with the community's objectives. Although engagement helps increase productivity and morale, it may not always increase involvement. When residents or members are involved, they exercise the objectives of the neighborhood or community by volunteering or participating in community events or on boards and committees. Involvement is what makes engagement so successful.       There are three primary tools for increasing community involvement are communication, outreach and recognition. Communication ...

  Humans are social animals. That is not new information. Even the ancients knew that it is not good for man to be alone. Studying ancient and classical history shows many examples of where banishment from society was the worst possible punishment. That is because humans are made to live in a community.  Virtual communities cannot replace real, face-to-face communities.  Virtual communities cannot provide meaning and fellowship in the same way. Virtual communities also, most certainly, cannot serve as intermediate structures between the individual and an all-powerful government.  A virtual community is no substitute for the real thing. In his 1953 book, “The Quest for Community,” Robert Nisbet argued that radical individualism caused communities to break down. This desire for individual autonomy has weakened families, churches, clubs, groups, and associations.  People have flocked to virtual, online communities as face-to-face communities have declined. Many see...

Have you ever stopped long enough to hear your neighborhood? Some days my neighborhood is quiet. You will hear no cars, playing children, or mowers running. You can hear squirrels in the trees, birds chirping, and an occasional siren inside the Republic. At other times, the neighborhood is filled with the sounds of barking dogs, cars rushing past, and the hum of lawnmowers and leaf blowers. Sometimes the sounds I hear are children playing and laughing. Sometimes those sounds of joy transform into cries of pain from falling off the scooter and scraping the elbow or knee. A few weeks ago, I heard many chainsaws in the neighborhood cutting up tree limbs after a storm. Every community and neighborhood has unique sounds. What are the sounds that remind you of your neighborhood? It is the sound of neighbors out on driveways talking and laughing together. Maybe that gathering happens around a basketball goal or some cornhole boards, or lawn chairs. Sometimes the neighborhood s...

  I frequently get asked for ideas on resolving problems between neighbors or neighborhoods. I listen to the details each time and ask many questions before offering any ideas. But in my experience, most people are not seeking ideas. They want an easy button. When it comes to neighboring and relationships, there is no easy button. It takes time, Or as Chris and Elizabeth McKinney say, neighboring is a crockpot, not a microwave. When Staples came up with its easy campaign, it tapped into a basic instinct of humans. We are always looking for a shortcut. And these days, in American culture, we are always looking for something that provides the resolution we want with a bare minimum of effort from us! Back in my growing-up days, this idea was found in the Burger King campaign: Have it your way. It was the idea that anything you wanted, they would provide it. We came to expect that same thing at every store we visited and with every purchase we made. We also started to think our wants w...

  The Greene County Commonwealth newspaper reprinted an article a few weeks ago that was originally printed in that newspaper in April 1969. It took a different approach with tips on ruining your community without trying. The suggestions came from the Missouri Division of Commerce and Industrial Development in 1969. These were good reminders. 1.       Never attend community meetings.  Just sit around and criticize about the way “they” are doing things. 2.       Vote against any kind of tax levy whether the purpose is good or not. 3.       Criticize the fire and police departments as just being out for glory. 4.       Do not attend a school concert, ball game, program or exhibit. 5.       Knock your city council members as being on the council for kick-backs. 6.       Stay out of church.  You might go on Easter and Christmas ...

  Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do, Do not wait to shed your light afar, To the many duties ever near you now be true, Brighten the corner where you are. - Hymn was written in the 1920s by Ina Mae Duley Ogdon,   When Darla Noble and her husband I moved to Greene County in 2012 their first stop was Springfield. She tells her story this way: Living in town was something very new and different. As a fifth-generation farm girl, it was a culture shock; honestly, we weren't happy. So, in 2017 we built a new house in Rogersville. That was a happy medium, so to speak. But despite our best efforts to fit in and establish a new community of friends, it wasn't happening. So, about this time last year, I decided to stop trying. Instead of trying to fit into someone else's circle, I established my own.  I decided that I would brighten the corners of my neighborhood and my community and extend a hand of friendship to some of the other women in my neighb...

  A few weeks ago, Facebook “flagged” an event advertisement from me because of a “user complaint.”  Check out the words in the ad that got the complaint: “Being an engaged neighbor can improve your neighborhood, community and your quality of life. Learn how to become an engaged neighbor and get ready to change your life. Enroll by March 17. Class is in Canvas with weekly Zoom sessions. Cost is $50 per person.” But it really wasn’t the ban of the advertisement for our “Becoming an Engaged Neighbor” class that got my attention. It was the comments posted under the class announcement. If I ever wondered whether or not Americans have forgotten how to have compassion, care or interact appropriately and with love, some of the comments about the class remind me why this class is so vital! Granted, a few folks “get it.” But many more need to learn it. Heather wrote the comment on the post: “Greene County has enough people who can't mind their own business. No need for a zoom class on...