Clean-up!

After an invigorating walk in the morning, I was sitting with my cup of coffee when my neighbor opened her door opposite my flat, and started sweeping in front of her place.  It was a daily practice, and every day, she would collect the dust and  heap it up in a corner, near the lift.  Now, our building, like most apartment buildings, had its share of woes, and currently, we were functioning without a watchman who used to clean up the place too.  I decided to speak to the lady about this daily heaping of the dust, and approached her asking her if she would be asking her maid to clean it up, or should I ask mine to do so. 

What followed was verbal diarrhea.  She raved and ranted about how they were tenants, and I was abusing them, how being an owner, I was throwing my weight around, how did it matter where she put  the garbage, it was not in front of my flat, and they were not as rich as me etc. etc.  she also went on to say that I had no better work than to keep my front door open all the time, just to see what was going on in her flat.  She also kindly advised me to be more civilized (maybe discreetly hinting at my attire, I was in my tracks then).

All I could do was just gape at her. I mean, what brought all this on?  It was as if a hole was unplugged; and to think that she was actually suppressing all this within her all this while! I actually felt sorry for her! 

I had my maid clean up the place. But it set me thinking again about how we continue to live such a narrow, meaningless life.  I mean, how  vehemently  we complain about our streets being dirty, the corporation not doing its job, and criticize the  city for its unkempt roads and pathways, the bins overflowing with garbage, and finally admire a country like Singapore for its discipline and law abiding citizens.  Yet, when it comes to keeping our own backyard (in this case front yard) clean, it touches so many raw nerves.  I mean, what did being rich or poor have to do with the dust?  What did being an owner or a tenant have with keeping the floor clean?  Being civilized?  I couldn’t have been more polite; yet she just could not stop talking and screaming!   How much of garbage we are carrying around, unwilling to put it down, repack our bags, and then blame the world for our burdens!

However, the next morning, after my walk, I was entering my flat when she opened her door. I chimed in a cheery Good morning to her. And now it was her turn to gape! After the intial shock, she profusely apologized for her behavior the previous day, saying she had no idea what came over her, and that she was extremely sorry for the kind of behavior she had shown.  I brushed it aside, saying it happens, and that it was embarrassing me the way she was going on and on…

So that was that.  I don’t know honestly, what made me wish her that morning. Maybe I was in a good mood, maybe the walk brought out the better part of me, maybe I decided it was not worth having an unfriendly neighbor, or even being one… the reasons do not matter really, what matters is the fact that I make it a point every day to look out for her and wish her good morning!  If that was making her happy, why not!?