I planted lettuce seeds in 50 containers, grew them, gave lettuce to each of my neighbors, and it saved me hundreds of dollars.
What are the consequences of mass human isolation? What happens when people stop interacting? Lose the subtleties and warmth of face-to-face human interaction? What happens when neighbors are turned into viruses? “Should we spark some racial tension?”
2020 marks the most elaborate experiment in fear and isolation in human history. What are the psychological repercussions of that? What impact does isolating people in a state of despair have on the human soul? Has anyone stopped to consider the psychological damage that results from keeping children isolated in a state of fear for extended periods of time?
In many ways 2020 can be defined as the year that revealed how disconnected people already were from one another. One word, “pandemic,” and neighbors morphed into viruses. People isolated in their homes for months. When they do leave, they and everyone around them are in concealment. You couldn’t see them smile at you even if they did. People already didn’t know their neighbors and just like that they were turned into ticking time bombs of imminent demise.
We watched as people raided grocery stores. “100 rolls of toilet paper for me and none for anyone else.” Look how quickly society devolved into a fear filled pit of isolated despair. Am I going to get sick? Will we have food? Will I lose my job? Will I lose my house? Will I lose my rights? Be injected with chemicals?
The one commonality in all these fears is isolation. Why do people fear they will be unable to get a job if they are laid off? Why do people fear they will go hungry? Or that their town will be overrun with rioters?
People point out all the problems in the world but fail to do the little things to improve their world. We have all heard grandparents talk about a time when people didn’t lock their doors. We think that has been taken from us, but we can only take it from ourselves. Community takes effort and trust takes time. What have you done to adjust to the present world?
Last week I had an idea, I was going to get to know my neighbors. Do something kind, unprovoked, social, in a time where all are lacking. I planted heirloom mustard cut and grow again lettuce in 50 separate containers – with the help of my son of course. A week passed, and 49 had sprouted.
I put the containers in a box and walked door to door down my block handing them out as presents. I met people that I have lived on the same block as for three years yet didn’t know their names. I wasn’t greeted with fear, demands to back up, or ignored, but I was blanketed with smiles and laughter. I couldn’t have imagined how quickly the kind gesture would be repaid.
As it turns out one of my neighbors spends their spare time fixing clunkers and flipping them for profit. I mentioned that my car hasn’t started since the week prior and I was going to have to replace the battery. He quickly replied, “no need for that, let me take a look at it.” We walked across the street and back to my house and popped the hood of the car. “You don’t need a new battery, let me go get my battery charger.” He came back, hooked up the battery charger to my car’s battery, and told me to check back in eight hours. Later that day I put my keys into the ignition, turned, and heard the sweet sound of my car engine roar.
Just like that planting a seed saved me hundreds of dollars; and I’m not talking about a lettuce seed. One unprovoked act of kindness and community building sprouted a friendship. I now trust my neighbor and I’m pretty sure my neighbor trusts me.
One of the primary functions of parents is to establish the culture their children grow up in. If you don’t establish the culture, outside forces will establish it for you. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to permit my child to grow up in a state of isolated fear and despair.
“You must love your neighbor as yourself”
MATTHEW 22:39
Guest Article Submitted By,
Brett Pike
Twitter: @ClassicalLearner
Instagram: @ClassicialLearnerToday
Original article published on https://classicallearner.com/,
