Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

The Power-full Alternative: BUILDING COMMUNITY
For thousands of years, your ancestors lived in barrios, hamlets, small neighborhoods,
and villages. Yet in the time since our parents and grandparents were young, privacy has
become so over-cherished that many neighborhoods are not much more than individual
houses that happen to be located near one another.
Where our activities were once open and shared, they are now mostly engaged separately
and hidden behind locked doors and backyard fences. The streets in front of our homes
are judged to be “no longer safe”, and are therefore often “out of bounds” for children
and adults alike. Extended families that once all lived in the same community are now
spread across the country and see each other maybe once or twice a year. Where we once
knew every neighbor’s birthdays and favorite hobbies, today we don’t even know their
names.
Our communities may have become malnourished and weak, and yet they are not yet
dead … Turning a cold neighborhood into a vibrant village can be a daunting task, it is
true, and yet folks are doing just that all over the world – and you can too!
So instead of succumbing to your addiction to sit back and do nothing, now is the time
for you to stand up and take a stand – now is the time for you to break down the sloth and
the indifference that are keeping you isolated — now is the time to do so by building up
your community’s sense of Togetherness.
Here are a few tips to help you get started …
TIP #01: GO FOR EVENING WALKS, and remember to greet everyone you meet with
a warm “Hello” and a sincere smile. Make sure as well to let them know that you
appreciate them, and ask if there is anything you can do to help them out in any way.
TIP #02: PICK UP NEIGHBORHOOD TRASH … This is a good one to do once a
month with the neighborhood kids.
TIP #03: MOVE YOUR PICNIC TABLE TO THE FRONT YARD … See what happens
when you eat supper regularly out front. It’s likely you’ll strike up a conversation with a
neighbor, so be ready to invite them to bring a dish to share.
TIP #04: PLANT a FRONT-YARD VEGETABLE GARDEN … Build a raised bed for
veggies and plant edible landscaping and fruit trees. Release your previous boundaries by
inviting your neighbors to share the spoils. If you don’t have a front yard, consider
getting a few neighbors together and planting a neighborhood garden where there is space
for one.
TIP #05: SHARE A BLOCK PARTY … Be sure to go out of your way to personally
invite all those in the neighborhood who seem to feel like “outsiders”.
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