Hello friends!

kristopher here, and I hope this blog finds you well. Last week was a sunny and warm week here in Wichita, and I hadn’t yet done so, so I took the 8 Front Doors Challenge! The 8 Front Doors Challenge is, in simple terms, getting to know the neighbors behind the 8 front doors closest to your own. I recently moved and had not yet met even my closest neighbors, so I figured this was it. This was the time. I took the challenge.

And…it was fantastic! So so so good! And so so simple. I baked some brownies with a brownie recipe I like (the recipe only has 3 ingredients, which is real handy for ensuring your neighbors can eat them if they have dietary preferences, restrictions, or allergies) and put the brownies on individual plates. I then made little notecards that said hello, gave my name, told of how I just moved in at my address, included my phone number and also that they could get in touch whenever, and finally, named how joyful I am to be their neighbor! I attached these notecards to the plates, grabbed one, threw on some shoes, walked next door, set the plate down next to the door, knocked, and stepped a little ways away before engaging in conversation. That’s it! Now, certainly, I felt a little awkward in doing so; seemingly, such gestures are not as commonplace as they once were (we’re about to change that!), and I can really overthink things like this. But for me, once the neighbor answers the door, it’s all downhill from there (and in terms of our relationship, joyfulness, etc. - uphill!). The conversation gets flowing, the narratives in my head start dissipating, and wow, it’s just so good and fun!

I met a neighbor who loves to go on walks around the neighborhood with their sweet and hilarious Rottweiler, Stella. I met a neighbor who loves to loves to shop at Aldi and buy a certain 12-grain bread. I met a neighbor who assured me that “things are pretty chill around here”. I met a neighbor who later texted me, giving me their contact info in return and thanking me for the brownies. I met a neighbor family whose son lives around the corner and who hang out together frequently. I met a neighbor couple who are moving out in about a month but still ensured me I could reach out to them for anything in the meantime. I met a neighbor couple who immediately wanted to share their contact information with me and also told me to get in touch whenever.

After every few interactions, I went home and added those neighbors to my block map! What’s that you say? Block map! I quite literally drew 9 squares on a piece of paper, labeled my home as one of them, and then started filling in the rest. After meeting neighbors, I wrote down their names (because learning names is so meaningful and yet, for me, also so easy to not be intentional about) and some of the things I learned about them in the midst of our conversations. Now I have a block map that I can refer to and keep adding to!

Already, I have had so many beautiful conversations with my ridiculously cool neighbors and fallen in love with my block! So many generations, and such quirky people, live on my block, and I can’t get enough of it. I just can’t wait to see where we go from here!

I cannot emphasize this enough: If you want to participate more fully in neighboring and just haven’t quite figured out the place to start, I encourage you to take the 8 Front Doors Challenge. Check in with the neighbors behind the 8 front doors closest to your own! If you haven’t met them yet, meet them! If you have, check in with them, see how they are doing, get to know them more!

This is the Movement, folks.

This is where relationships and friendships and block parties and organizing and world-changing actions begin! This is where we more fully encounter the beautiful people living all around us, continue fostering beautiful relationships with them, and together, start to embody the beautiful changes we wish to see in the world!

Friends, I don’t know that it gets much better than that.

Peace to you all, and…happy neighboring!

P.S. We’re starting an Initiative at the Neighboring Movement centered around the 8 Front Doors Challenge. To check out the 8 Front Doors Initiative, visit: neighboringmovement.org/8frontdoors