Another day I was trying to focus on work at my desk near the shared neighborhood path when I was distracted by the approaching din. Emboldened, I stepped out on my porch and the words slipped out, "It would be neighborly if you bought a headset to listen to your music outdoors!" Yes, I admit, my less-than-pleasant side emerged, and I was met with a confused "What?" from the neighbor. I retorted, "Maybe if you turn down your music, you could hear." He didn't, and I retreated indoors, regretting that I lost my cool. I don’t care for conflict, and yet I invited it at that moment. The experience was unsettling.

I was gone for the weekend and today when I returned, however, a surprising twist unfolded. As I heard him approaching again, this time he had more recognizable sounds playing – with tone, melody, and a considerate volume. It seemed he had indeed heard my plea. I’m thankful. I still prefer listening to the birds and frogs that are abundant in the woods and pond down the path, but for now, I’ll be okay with the improvement and give some grace to a neighbor who has different tastes than me.

Image Credit: Technically both images in this article are mine. The sun and flowers at the top I drew on my computer and it took me a couple of hours. The duck below, is technically mine too, but I used Midjourney’s discord bot and these words as input: One duck in a fedora playing music in the style of Art Deco and it took me about 3 minutes. Sigh.