This year, the month of March is bringing forth some interesting International Days! These days might be allocated one day in the calendar. However, the inherent messages and their significance are worth emulating at all times. Let's throw light on some of these days and extract nuggets of wisdom for ourselves.
Neighbour Day: 25th March 2018 (Dates vary with respect to countries)
Give a fair answer to a very simple question- "Do you know your neighbours? If not in person, do you at least know their names?"
Well, you may find your answer resonating with some of these research findings:
"Only one in three of us bother to introduce ourselves to our neighbours when we move because we're 'too busy'... One quarter of people do not know the names of the people living next door." ... The same report also mentioned: "As many as one in four of the 3,000 adults who took part in the study said they we're 'simply too busy' to make friends, while 18% never see their neighbours to say 'hello'."
According to a research by Churchill Home Insurance: "51 per cent of those with neighbours admit they don't know their first names, while 70 per cent are unaware of their full names."
Some more findings of the same research bring to light that:
• more than one third people fail to even recognise their neighbours in person
• around three quarters aren't aware of what their next door neighbours do for a living
• 61 per cent aren't able to remember the duration of stay of their next door neighbours before they moved
As per the study findings released by the HDB and the National University of Singapore Centre of Sustainable Asian Cities and Sociology Department: The maximum interaction among the neighbours is restricted to saying just 'hi' and 'bye'.
Unfortunately, this is the state of society, where social life is gradually being replaced by social media. Although, what to talk of interaction with neighbours, the situation has deteriorated to the extent that family members staying under one roof also remain unaware of each other's whereabouts! Alas! It's the paradox of our times that 'we have been all the way to the moon and back; but have trouble crossing the street to meet our neighbours!'
...
...How the idea of Neighbour Day emerged? ...Can we classify neighbours depending upon their conduct?
...What are some other interesting inspiring International March Days? To know all this in toto, read the complete article in March'18 edition of English Akhand Gyan Monthly Magazine.
