How does your neighbor impact you?

When Manish was studying in class 7, he was very much attached to his apartment friends. He used to play outdoor games with them happily. When his mother used to call him for doing homework, he would become upset for leaving his friends. One fine day, his close friend in the apartment, Sathish, was to vacate his house. Manish became very sad. Manish and Sathish shared a very good bond, and it was only natural of the former to feel sad when his friend separates from him. Manish got some gifts for Sathish and tried to hide his sorrow while the tempo van of the latter was about to start.

Attachment with neighbors

There are various Manishs in this world who are so close to their neighbors that they cannot accept the latter’s separation from them. These people form a great gang, and they enjoy their own beautiful world. This is true in the case of adults too. Sudha, who is close to her neighbor Brinda, shares all her joys and sorrows with the latter. One fine day when Brinda shifted the house, Sudha became visibly upset.  For some, neighbors are an integral part of their lives. They even share food among themselves and take the liberty in asking them to prepare their favorite food. And not to miss taking care of their children when they go outside and even collect any couriers or letters in their absence. Without any bias, they accept the neighbors for what they are.

But there are also situations when we don’t get along with our nieghbors well. Under such instances, remember these two important pointsL

Maintain a hateless distance 

Sometimes it may so happen that you are not in good terms with your neighbor. For example, they may own a pet that is bothering the neighbors a lot. You can tell them in an understanding way.  In such cases, you can maintain a distance from them without hatred as the basis. In fact, you should be amiable with everyone, and neighbors also deserve the same treatment. But even in spite of your efforts to be friendly with them and things don’t turn out well, you can maintain a friendly distance with them.

Don’t expect lot of help from your neighbors

You may behave in an unbiased and friendly manner with your neighbor. But ensure that they don’t ask lot of help from you and you also dont expect a lot of favor from them. If they ask, you can decline those things which you cannot do in a courteous manner.  It all depends on the rapport you share with them. It is always better to show your approach in the beginning itself, rather than changing your attitude suddenly. In fact, there are also certain neighbors who don’t converse between themselves a lot. But they are available to their neighbors when help is needed. So there should be a good balance.

While Manish was affected by the separation from his dear friend and so is Sudha, there are also those people who are so busy in their work that they don’t consider socializing with neighbors something really needed for them. They don’t think that just because the neighbor is staying next door to them or in their vicinity, they should converse with them in a regular basis. They have their own circle and are happy with that. They may even be introverts and don’t share a strong bond with their neighbors. That said, the key is in being cordial with everyone and neighbors also fall in this scope. And here then, I still remember the words uttered by my friend regarding her rapport with neighbors, “I am so busy with my work that I don’t have time to converse with my neighbors a lot.  Well, we should be courteous with everyone and just because they are neighbors we should not take them for granted.” This sums it all.