AdmittedlyMr. Rodgers Neighborhood I grew up in the era of Sesame Street and Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood. These shows were built around the premise of community and neighbors. Every episode of Mr. Rodgers started the same way. He’d come onto the television screen singing his song won’t you be, please won’t you be…my neighbor.

The premise was super simple. He operated under the philosophy that we were all his neighbors, even though we had only met virtually through the screen. It didn’t matter, we were his neighbors and he wanted to invite us in to share a piece of his life and adventure. The old I grew, the more corny the show seemed to me. But why?

Nothing changed about him, or his philosophy. Nothing changed about his song or his cardigan that he wore in every episode. What happened? I think that as we grow older we also grow more cynical about relationships, community and what it means to be a neighbor. Our minds are tainted by the notion that neighbors are those who live in close proximity to us. But what if we viewed each person we shared a little portion of our lives with as our neighbor? What kind of difference would it make in the lives of the people we see every day?

I believe the impact could be astronomical! Now this probably isn’t going to happen over night, but do you think you could retrain your brain about what it means to be a neighbor? Nieghbors are the ones we call on when we want someone to check our house when we’re on vacation. They’re the ones we want to add value to as we help them finish that project around the house. Neighbors are also the people who need to be impacted by our lives. Sometimes just approaching someone with a kind word or helping hand will have a life changing affect on them.

Today will you be someone’s neighbor? Won’t you please…please won’t you be…a neighbor?