I’m having my morning coffee on the front porch. Can you believe that?! It’s lovely. Five of my neighbors have already said good morning to me. Blows my mind. I had forgotten about this side of humanity. In NYC, neighbors walk right by you, squeezing by on the tight stairwell, and barely acknowledge your existence. You’re lucky to get a slight head nod. It’s just the culture in NYC, you know? Go, go, go…forget about others. The city brings it out in everyone.
My neighbors now are the type of people that when they saw us the first day with a trailer, the one who was a trucker offered to back up the hard-to-maneuver trailer into our driveway for easier access. They’re kind the of people who came over immediately to help when they saw us unloading a washer and dryer we got off Craigslist. They’ve been in this neighborhood for decades. They have been so welcoming.
Neighborly kindness is great. I think most humans, when put in the right context and setting, are fundamentally kind. We naturally enjoy being nice to each other.