Cynicism: Overcome it one neighbor at a time

It is too easy to become cynical in light of events in the past year, but as I was running through my neighborhood today, I stopped and thanked a man who has unselfishly served his neighbors for years.

When we moved into the neighborhood, I noticed an elderly gentleman daily walking his English sheepdogs and picking up garbage. Today I finally stopped long enough to thank him.

His response was to ask me if I had served in the military. When I told him no, he told me that all he was doing was “policing the area” and that each time he picked up something it was “good exercise.” We talked for a few minutes and then I resumed my run.

It is to my shame that I didn’t stop and thank him long ago, but as I ran on I thought that if we thanked men and women who serve their neighbors unselfishly and with no expectation of receiving thanks, maybe our cynicism at politicians would be lessened.

And who knows what our neighborhoods would be like.

This story was originally published January 16, 2021 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Cynicism: Overcome it one neighbor at a time."