The People Next Door!!!!!!.............Zema   Author:  42945  Category:(Discussion) Created:(10/24/2003 7:32:00 PM) This post has been Viewed (524 times) I found this article I was reading to be so true and thought I would share it with you and see what you think of it also...its written by a Psychologist who has had over 20yrs experience....and I read a lot of her writings.. Go next door and borrow two eggs', my mother would frequently ask me when I was a child if she suddenly realized she'd run out while making a cake. Just as frequently, the little boy next door would turn up with an empty cup and request flour. Neighbours would save you a trip to the supermarket, assist with medicines for a sick child and help out when things broke down. It was common for neighbours to get together for drinks and dinner parties and for the kids to happily run from one house to another. Today, our lives are so much busier. Many people don't even know their neighbours' names, the only contact being a quick hello at the letterbox. Older people and stay-at-home mums may have closer relationships with their neighbours, but generally there's less time and less desire to strike up a relationship with neighbours. The downside to having very little neighbourly contact goes beyond trips out to the shops on a rainy night. It can increase your security risk. The neighbour who has no contact with you is less likely to notice if a thief is on your premises, wouldn't know how to contact you if they were suspicious, and is not going to offer to clear your mail when you're on holidays. People who live on their own could literally drop dead without neighbours noticing. These downsides assume that your neighbours aren't a security risk themselves. Some people are terrified of their neighbours and for them, no relationship is safer than any relationship. Others feel overwhelmed by nosey neighbours, neighbours that drop in uninvited or ones who offer opinions that vary from which plants to grow in your garden to how to parent your kids. What type of relationship you have with your neighbours will depend on your lifestyle and the judgements you make about your neighbours. For most people, there's an optimal level of interaction halfway between having no relationship and sharing a friendship. This level of "polite acquaintanceship" will help if there's an issue that needs to be sorted out, such as a light or noise that's bothering you at night. For most people, the best of both worlds involves a level of neighbourly contact that's friendly enough to allow for relaxed conversation and keeping an eye out for each other, but not so close that you feel like you're living in each other's pockets. FOOTNOTE: I think this is a good article, I wave and have a quick hello to my neighbours, and there is only one young couple who live next door to me that we are more friendlier with, but, we may not see one another for a week at a time and we know that if either of us need any sort of help we are there for one another. I know of other people who live in one anothers homes practically and before long they argue and fall out with one another...that's not for me and besides, I'm far too busy with my life for this... Luv and Peace....Zema You can join Unsolved Mysteries and post your own mysteries or interesting stories for the world to read and respond to Click here Scroll all the way down to read replies. Show all stories by   Author:  42945 ( Click here ) Spring is coming