Won't you be my neighbor?

Everyone has a different point of what it means to be neighborly.  As a child, I was taught by my parents that being neighborly meant giving up your seat to an elderly person or pregnant woman.  We made casseroles for people that were sick.  We knew our physical neighbors and broke bread (have meals) together.  This is kindness, but I think it means more to be neighborly.  

To be honest, I think most of what I learned about being a neighbor was taught to me by Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.  It was a daily show that talked about being kind to everyone, resolving our feelings correctly, and loving ourselves. 

When his show was being attacked by critics and looking for funding, here is what Fred Rogers said to the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on May 1, 1969. 

​In today's world, I wonder what it means to be neighborly to our small cihldren.  Does being a caring neighbor mean the physical person that lives next to you or is it a metaphor?  Do they care for their neighbors?  I like to believe so.  I've seen a lot of good come out of my learners this year, so I am hopeful. 

All of these thoughts have rushed into my mind as I took a train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Frankfurt airport this afternoon. A woman and her two children boarded the train mid-journey and she was very disheveled.  People were staring at her while she was frantically trying to find her seats, because one of her chidren has cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair.  

After the initial shock, everyone worked together to get her situated.  Two women who were sitting in their correct seats moved, so the family could sit together.  We found places where all the luggage could go, so everyone was safe and comfortable.  

This quick exchange on a train may have not meant anything to the train passengers, but it reminded me of what it is to be neighborly.  Everyone could have ignored the woman in her time of need, but they didn't.  Instead, they rearranged their experience, so the family could be together and comfortable.  

As I exited the train to catch a flight, I walked away lighter, because of a simple act of neighborly kindness and it wasn't even done to me.  

We need eachother in this world.  We need to know that we matter to others. Let's be a little kinder today. 

Won't You Be My Neighbor?