Ideas Are Not Enough—Acts of Neighboring Must Be Done

Every year during Missouri Good Neighbor Week, hundreds of acts of kindness are reported. We hear about neighbors mowing lawns, delivering meals, writing thank-you notes, or organizing block parties. But here’s a reality we don’t talk about enough: for every act of neighboring we report, there are many more that go unreported. Some seem so trivial that people think they aren’t worth mentioning.

Holding the door open, waving from the porch, or picking up litter on your street might not sound newsworthy. Yet these simple gestures form the invisible threads that hold neighborhoods together. They build trust, send signals of care, and remind us that someone is paying attention. When we dismiss small acts as “too small to matter,” we undervalue the very habits that make neighboring possible.

But there’s another side to this coin. 

In my own life, I’ve discovered a larger category: the acts of neighboring that never get done. I can’t count the number of times I’ve thought, I should take some cookies next door, or I should check in on that neighbor, only to let the idea drift away in the busyness of daily life. Having the idea is not the same as actually doing it.

That’s a humbling realization. We all carry good intentions. Most of us genuinely want to be better neighbors. But intentions left undone don’t build relationships, reduce loneliness, or create belonging. They only remind us of what could have been.

The challenge, then, is not just to celebrate the big, dramatic stories of neighboring. It’s to value the small ones and to turn our intentions into actions. 

Instead of thinking, I should call my neighbor, pick up the phone. Instead of saying, I ought to invite them over sometime, send the text and set the date. Instead of planning to wave next time, raise your hand today.

Neighboring doesn’t require perfection or grand gestures. It requires presence. It requires us to act, even when the action seems ordinary. Because when ordinary kindness becomes consistent, it creates extraordinary neighborhoods.

So as Missouri Good Neighbor Week approaches, I encourage you to do two things: first, act on the idea, however small. And second, report it. Your story may inspire someone else to turn their good intention into good neighboring.

Written by David L. Burton

MORE INFORMATION

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 or burtond@missouri.edu. You can also visit his website at https://engagedneighbor.com.