July 06, 2024

Quote of the Week

"We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. " --Dorothy Day

Ten Lessons In Neighborliness

The headlines are everywhere: Americans have fewer close friends and spend more time online. [...] Working families are exhausted and overwhelmed trying to duct tape all kinds of solutions to systemic problems like the child care crisis and the creep of work expectations into non-work hours. Young people are struggling mightily. It’s enough to make you want to put a blanket over your head and never leave the house. But, in fact, you should do the opposite! Emerge, connect, get your hands in the soil and your feet on the pedals of a bike. You can start by becoming an intentional, committed, and creative neighbor.

No matter your housing and neighborhood context, here are 10 lessons for more interdependence and less loneliness:

1. Sharing unlocks abundance.
2. Neighborliness is for introverts too.
3. The tiny things add up to a big feeling of mutuality.
4. Proximity is key.
5. Nourish the soil with gratitude in order to weather the tough times.
6. Kids get to be what they can see.
7. Neighbors make great companions for ritual.
8. Sharing is great for our aching planet.
9. We're safer together.
10. Intergenerational neighborliness is win-win-win.

Read more in this week's featured article about building community from Greater Good magazine.

Reading Corner

Title: Who Is My Neighbor?
By: Amy-Jill Levine and Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
Ages: 3-7


"Blues and Yellows just don't mix, and that's how it's always been. No one remembers why. But then comes the day Midnight Blue takes a tumble along the road. His friends Navy and Powder Blue don't even stop to help! It's only when a Yellow comes along that everything changes forever. This creative story is sure to prompt rich conversations, encouraging new ways of seeing our neighbors and ourselves. A note for parents and educators is included." --Publishers

Be the Change

Try out any of these service projects with your family this summer in your neighborhood!  Create your own family ritual of organizing a neighborhood activity this summer to build community wherever you live.