What are the qualities of a good neighbor?
When I think about my childhood years, my first friends come to my mind,
those who were the first people besides my family I got to know, who became
my friends and grew up with me. Most of them were classmates, relatives and
of course, neighbors. Neighbors are those people who share the street, block
and fences with us. Their existence has always been taken for granted, and they
haven't been given the importance or attention that they deserve.
For some people, neighbors can mean "troublesome" or "annoyance." For
others, neighbors are considered as relatives, and they enjoy having a good and
close relationship with their neighbors. Of course, the opinions depend on
personality of individuals, culture, type of housing (house or apartment), place
(a big city, a small town, or the country) among others. But both points of view
may come to an agreement when determining "what makes a good neighbor?"
In the first place, a good neighbor should be considerate. Knowing that you
should treat others the way you expect to be treated is a quality that makes
people respect boundaries (physical, social and emotional). For instance, a
neighbor who can tell when the noise of his stereo makes may bother the
people next door, and is able to turn it down taking into consideration of his
neighbors' needs.
In the second place, being sympathetic is another characteristic that a neighbor
should have. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes makes you understand
better the feelings of somebody who is in trouble, and consequently, offer
appropriate help. An example could be a situation where you know that your
neighbor divorced recently and is going through a hard time. Maybe you will
be more understanding when you see her in a bad mood, and avoid an
unnecessary conflict, because you can see the way she feels.
Finally, good manners and a polite way to address your neighbors can polish
even the toughest relationship. When a neighbor is rude, even if we excuse him
or her by saying, "that's the way he/she is", we feel a little rejected. A nice
smile or a "Hello" helps a lot to start a friendly conversation, and to avoid
misunderstandings such as "He never speaks to me, so he must be mad at me or
something." Manners do help to start friendships.
There are so many more characteristics that we could list, and there are many
ways we could make a more accurate picture of the perfect neighbor we all
want to have. But I guess the best way to "edify" our neighbors is by being
good neighbors ourselves. We cannot demand others to do something for us
that we cannot offer to do for them. We should stop complaining about what
our neighbor always does that bothers us; we'd better start analyzing what we
are doing to make the relationships with "the people next door" flourish. Let us
start setting the example.
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When I think about my childhood years, my first friends come to my mind,
those who were the first people besides my family I got to know, who became
my friends and grew up with me. Most of them were classmates, relatives and
of course, neighbors. Neighbors are those people who share the street, block
and fences with us. Their existence has always been taken for granted, and they
haven't been given the importance or attention that they deserve.
For some people, neighbors can mean "troublesome" or "annoyance." For
others, neighbors are considered as relatives, and they enjoy having a good and
close relationship with their neighbors. Of course, the opinions depend on
personality of individuals, culture, type of housing (house or apartment), place
(a big city, a small town, or the country) among others. But both points of view
may come to an agreement when determining "what makes a good neighbor?"
In the first place, a good neighbor should be considerate. Knowing that you
should treat others the way you expect to be treated is a quality that makes
people respect boundaries (physical, social and emotional). For instance, a
neighbor who can tell when the noise of his stereo makes may bother the
people next door, and is able to turn it down taking into consideration of his
neighbors' needs.
In the second place, being sympathetic is another characteristic that a neighbor
should have. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes makes you understand
better the feelings of somebody who is in trouble, and consequently, offer
appropriate help. An example could be a situation where you know that your
neighbor divorced recently and is going through a hard time. Maybe you will
be more understanding when you see her in a bad mood, and avoid an
unnecessary conflict, because you can see the way she feels.
Finally, good manners and a polite way to address your neighbors can polish
even the toughest relationship. When a neighbor is rude, even if we excuse him
or her by saying, "that's the way he/she is", we feel a little rejected. A nice
smile or a "Hello" helps a lot to start a friendly conversation, and to avoid
misunderstandings such as "He never speaks to me, so he must be mad at me or
something." Manners do help to start friendships.
There are so many more characteristics that we could list, and there are many
ways we could make a more accurate picture of the perfect neighbor we all
want to have. But I guess the best way to "edify" our neighbors is by being
good neighbors ourselves. We cannot demand others to do something for us
that we cannot offer to do for them. We should stop complaining about what
our neighbor always does that bothers us; we'd better start analyzing what we
are doing to make the relationships with "the people next door" flourish. Let us
start setting the example.
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