Christian Economics

Even though I have lived in the same place for almost ten years, I still don't know very many of my neighbors. They do recognize my dog, though. Why is that? I think it is because he is not afraid to introduce himself. If he sees someone new, he wants to meet them; so he goes right up and sniffs them, barks, wags his tail, etc. If we go for a walk in the woods, and come near a house with people or other dogs, he wants to run up to them and find out who they are. I'm more likely to hide, and walk back the way I came, so that they don't see me. I would probably find them interesting too, but I'm afraid that I will be a bother. I don't want to interrupt what they're doing, or impose myself on someone who might not want to talk to me, so I often never speak to them. In fact, I have met several neighbors because my dog went to their house first, and they had to find me to return him.
I wish it was easier for me to approach strangers, and start conversations with them. Maybe sometimes I would be a nuisance, but other times I would make new friends. I usually welcome it when someone I don't know appraoches me, and introduces himself, and we can get to know each other, but I still hesitate to approach others. Perhaps if we were all more like my dog, and went up to strangers we see in the neighborhood, we would all know each other soon, and really be neighbors, not strangers any more.

Labels: neighbors