A friend of mine, Bill, lives in Bowness, Calgary. For years I’ve learned from him the importance, and joy, of living a life engaged with the local neighbourhood. Bill has a gentle way of caring for those around him and understands deeply how small changes can make a big difference in the way his neighbours feel about their neighbourhood. His easy-going kindness is inspiring. My advice: if you move to Bowness, you’ll want to live on Bill’s street.
This summer Bill did something quite fitting. He turned his whole front yard into a space for his neighbours to sit and visit. What was once a small patch of grass is now a spacious and inviting garden and patio. Bill BBQ’s out front, reads out front, and gardens out front. I asked Bill to explain to me why he created this space, he wrote, “Rather than prioritize the private space of our backyard, we chose to move forward with creating a public living place in our front yard. Our experience encouraged us not to isolate ourselves in our home. I hope the combination of public sitting area and vegetable gardens demonstrate an integrated life. It is possible in the context of a suburban neighbourhood–the incomparable Bowness–to invest yourself for the sake of seeing beauty emerge in relationships and local living.”
Bill has discovered a joy in welcoming others by using his yard as a place where neighbours can connect and feel at home. His passion for making his neighbourhood a beautiful place is wonderfully infectious. We would all love to live on Bill’s street.
Into the Neighbourhood Experiment: What small steps can you take to make your street and yard a place of welcoming hospitality?
