love my neighbor

It’s what you’re supposed to do.

Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself… wow. this is a hard one. I think the world would be perfect if everyone could do this.

The last bit of this essay is so profound:
“It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal…And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner – no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”

Simple Gestures represents an idea as old as mankind. Build meaningful communities in the places we live, with the people we are most near geographically and in the circumstances of our shared lives. Most of us in America live in a neighborhood whether it’s suburbia, an apartment complex, or in a small town and the people we live nearest share many things in common. That is part of the reason we live near each other because of the simple fact that we share certain things in common.

The problem today is that we are so busy commuting to workplaces that are farther and farther away and working longer hours and for those with kids getting more and more involved with sports leagues and other activities for the kids. What we’ve forgotten is that we as humans are a social animal and that we need to develop strong bonds with each other. In the days of the tribal communties it was easy because mobility was non-existent. Today we get in the car to do everything, what we propose is that we get back to the basics of sharing our lives with our neighbors in real and meaningful ways. The concept is easy to grasp, but not so easy to accomplish in today’s fast-paced society.

Simple Gestures is committed to helping restore and revitalize your neighborhood as a community. We are here to share ideas, to talk, to explore with you what it means to create community.