On warm winter days we get a taste of what may just be around the corner – families emerge to walk dogs, kids are outside playing or skating, and sunny days inspire us to connect with each other again. Healthy and vibrant neighbourhoods are created when we intentionally aim towards building those connections with people around us. If we do not plan to make our communities the best they can be, we will not become the kind of caring community that we all need and hope for. Here are six postures you can take to prepare yourself for a great season of reconnecting with the people who live in your community.
1. Get ready for a good time. Having fun in your neighbourhood gives us ownership of our place and helps us care for those who live around us. Prepare now to gather others and host a block party, make plans for a few backyard BBQ parties or set aside a Saturday afternoon for street hockey. If you live on the lake, invite new friends over to enjoy a boat ride. However you have fun, plan for it and find ways to include others.
2. Live with gratitude. Chestermere truly is one of the most amazing cities in the world. We live in peace, in prosperity, and community. Even on our hardest days we each have so much to be thankful for. When we live with gratitude for our city and neighbours, we see our world anew. Who do you appreciate in your neighbourhood? How can you begin this next season by showing gratitude for them?
3. Be courageous. Everything that we have in Chestermere began with ambition, boldness, and caring courage. Our lives and the lives of others are enriched when we find ways to do something meaningful and heartfelt for our city. When we take action, good things happen. It was ambition that built the first cabins along the lake, it was a community of action that built the bike park, and it will be out of our shared sense of courage that we create the very best neighbourhoods. How will you courageously connect with the people on your street?
4. Bit by Bit. The best neighbourhood connections happen over time and with intentionality. When we set ourselves to care for the people beyond our fences, we begin a journey. Amazing neighbourhoods are created through the ups and downs of life, bit by by, by people who care for each other.
5. Live Generously. Is there something you make that others would enjoy? Do you love a particular kind of music, or food? Find ways of sharing your gifts with others. Last week I got a text from some of our amazing neighbours saying that they left some home-made goodies on our front step. It was a gift to us that makes us deeply appreciate the people who live around us.
6. Share your contact information. Some neighbours can go for years without knowing the phone numbers or email addresses of the people around them. By sharing your basic contact information you are building trust, friendship, and creating a network of people you can turn to in times of celebration and hardship. The people who live on your street are not strangers, they’re neighbours. How we connect and engage each other sets the tone for our city in lasting ways.
Whatever your challenges or opportunities this year, Summer 2017 has the potential to be a year of creating new connections right in your neighbourhood. When we make a plan to bring out the best in others, we play a role in creating the kind of community that we know this city can become.
