Love Thy Neighbor?
I was taught that we should love people for who they are, and not what they are. What if I'm dealing with people who are unfriendly, demonstrates anti-social tendencies and are outrightly rude?
Living in a HDB apartment block like most Singaporeans, my unit is wedged between two families. As much as I would love to establish friendly relations with the people living in close quarters, my plan never really took off. It is either that they would not acknowledge my greetings (albeit soft, as I am shy, but, hey, it's a first step!) or they would be too stunned by my sudden flurry of hellos and smiles (I am shy but not that shy).
And then there's a case of the peculiar neighbour who sneers every time both of you are in a 0.5 m radius. He also picked up the very bad habit of smoking right in front of your doorstep, flicking the cigarette ash out from the corridor and hacking and spitting at the tiny little river of drain near your home.
I don't like confrontations and I wouldn't want to start a neighborly war of an Everitt Road proportion how should a person deal with such issues?
How are your neighborly relations?
