Reason #15: I Don't Love My Neighbor As Myself
My Favorite neighbor is the house across the street. And, I mean that literally. It's a house. An empty house. And, I love it.
It doesn't play loud music when I'm on the deck trying to enjoy a gentle breeze and my 18th consecutive Costco chicken-hot dog dinner. It doesn't stop me to talk when I've finally dragged myself off of the couch (who am I kidding... the bed...) and away from Brokenwood Mysteries season 4 for a walk I should have taken months ago. (Yes, we're down to Acorn.TV* in my house.) And, it keeps a better lawn than I do. (Well, the owner does. Point is, the grass looks good. Which helps, given that -- on a scale of rock-hard dirt to lush green carpet -- my lawn comes in around horse corral.)
All that to say: I'm a lousy neighbor.
I'm not generous with my time or extra rice flour (I would be, I think, but nobody asks for my rice flour.) My neighbor of 19 years has graduated 3 kids from college. I've never met any of them. In fact, of the 6 neighbors on my street, I've had only a handful of conversations with 5 of them. The 6th is my golfing buddy, and he deserves all the scorn I give him.
To be clear, it's not entirely my fault. The inverse is true, too. They've only had a handful of conversations with me. (My one neighbor made it clear on move-in day: "We chose this house because we were tired of neighbors asking to borrow things." Message received.) But, I don't see that particular out clause in "Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself." I know this because I've studied this holy command quite closely. And, near as I can tell, if I want to avoid my post-life sentence, I'm left with two options: love my neighbor more, or love myself less.
So, do I take the loophole that God so generously provided? Do I actively work to love myself less? It's a tough call, because I really, really like me. (A topic for another blog post, perhaps?)
I'll think about it and let you know. Right now, I've got another Brokenwood Mystery to watch.
*Let's talk Acorn.TV for a moment, shall we? It turns out I'm a 65-year-old woman. I'm thoroughly enjoying Brokenwood Mysteries and Vera... the international equivalents to Murder She Wrote. It's not that they're bad programs. They're actually both enyoyable entertainment. Both leads are excellent. But, the pacing is slow, slow, slow. Which is great, because that's what I need right now. But, I was hoping to avoid these style programs for at least another 20 years.
Another slow, but excellent program on Acorn is The Detectorists. Along with Mythic Quest (Apple TV+), The Detectorists is tied for my favorite comedy find of the pandemic. It's only 3 seasons, but it's a blast. The pacing (as mentioned... slow) is perfect. Toby Jones is awesome. And, Mackenzie Crook is stellar all around -- acting, directing and writing. If you missed it, find it. You'll thank me later. And, you might even get a new hobby.