Embrace the spirit of ‘Love Your Neighbour’ with simple acts of kindness and genuine connections. From friendly smiles to helping hands, let’s create a community where compassion knows no bounds. Join the movement to make every neighborhood a haven of love and support. Because together, we thrive! 🏡💕
The inspiration for this blog post is from the address given by Christie Allen on December 23, 2020. Its title is, “Love Thy Neighbor, Improve Your Mental Health, Says BYU Study.” You can read the full article HERE.
I appreciated this article’s perspective on how to overcome loneliness during this pandemic. One paragraph stood out to me in particular:
“…[You can] offer emotional support simply by checking in with a neighbor. Examples of tangible support included mowing a neighbor’s lawn or dropping off groceries, while informational support might involve providing a recommendation for a good doctor or a reliable handyman. Participants could foster belonging by cleaning up around the neighborhood or supporting a local business…..we found that people can experience significant reductions in loneliness even in tough times just by doing things that are easy, free and require no training to help the people around them.”
Building Community Matters
One partial explanation for why some may have felt lonely during this time could be that “We draw on different kinds of relationships to fulfill different kinds of needs,” Holt-Lunstad explained. “During the pandemic, our neighbors may be some of the few people we can have face-to-face contact with. But even in normal times, those who live near us are important because we have a shared community and goals.”
It’s a sad fact that nowadays there are neighborhoods out there where many don’t know their neighbors. Or they only see them as they pass by. How many opportunities for service or belonging are being missed out?
This follows along with the principle that Dave Ramsey teaches. He essentially says that there are people around us to help us out! “Everything we need help with is most likely within our zip code.” He goes on to say something like, “If it’s not, you probably need to think about moving.” In other words, the people around us have connections to connections! That’s the key that many are missing too. If we don’t reach out when we need help or have questions, we may not get to know the connections that the people around us have.
Our communities matter! Give to them and they will give back to you!
Just like Zig Ziglar talks about: Give others what they want/need and soon enough they will be there for you to give you what you want/need.
IF YOU LIKED THIS POST ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVING THOSE AROUND US AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR, YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE POSTS TOO: