Love Thy Neighbor

How hard can it be to get along?

I ask myself that after a flurry of incidents in my small condo community. With just 17 units and many long-time residents, we interact like a dysfunctional family caught up in the little irritations of living in close quarters.

A basketball game in the driveway garners complaints as does a barking dog, an open garage door and unapproved flower planting. A neighbor is sent an eviction notice for placing a glider on a common area beside his home.

Overreacting? I'd say so!

Whatever happened to talking through our differences? Why do we let the small stuff become larger than life? How did we become so polarized?

We are not alone in our inability to coexist. When I searched Google, I found 3.3 million results for "bad neighbors." There are sites for reporting poor behavior, video testimonials by the affronted, and plenty of tips for learning to live in harmony.

Why is it so tough to be civil to each other? Whatever happened to "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"?

My mother once had a neighbor who obsessed over the leaves that fell from her trees every autumn and blew into his yard. His solution was to ask my mom to cut down the trees!

One of my friends has a neighbor who uses the police as his conflict manager. He is unwilling, or unable, to resolve conflicts on his own.

Are we just unhappy as a society? Are we so wrapped up in the fast pace of our lives that we've forgotten how to be nice?

The next time my neighbor does something truly annoying, I intend to smile and follow the sage advice that was once given to me:

Be kind to unkind people. They need it the most.