The Empty Chair

 


There is something quietly powerful about an empty chair.

At a kitchen table.

On a front porch.

Beside you at a community event.

At a café.

At church.

In a park.

An empty chair can simply mean nobody is sitting there.

Or it can mean something much more beautiful:

There is room for you.

Today, I'd like to suggest a simple idea for transforming NDG.

Whenever possible, leave room for one more.

Someone Is Waiting to Be Included

Every neighbourhood has people who already belong to circles.

Families.

Friendships.

Teams.

Congregations.

Walking groups.

Coffee groups.

Parents who know one another from school.

Neighbours who have lived beside each other for twenty years.

That's wonderful.

But every neighbourhood also contains people standing just outside those circles.

The new neighbour.

The widower.

The newcomer to Canada.

The teenager who doesn't quite fit in.

The senior whose friends have gradually disappeared.

The person living alone.

The parent who always seems to be by themselves at pickup.

Someone who would love to join us—

but would never dream of inviting themselves.

Sometimes the distance between loneliness and belonging is only one sentence:

“Would you like to join us?”

Make the Circle Wider

Imagine four neighbours are sitting outside enjoying coffee.

A fifth neighbour walks past.

We can wave.

“Morning!”

That's friendly.

But there's another possibility.

“Morning! We're having coffee. Grab a chair and join us if you'd like.”

They may say no.

That's perfectly fine.

The invitation itself still says something:

You are welcome here.

And one day they may say yes.

That yes could be the beginning of a friendship that lasts for years.

The Empty Chair Doesn't Have to Be Literal

Leaving room for one more can happen anywhere.

You're walking the dog with a neighbour.

Invite someone else along.

You're going to a community event.

Ask someone if they'd like to come.

You're watching the Canadiens game.

Invite the person down the hall.

You're taking your children to the park.

Ask another parent to join you.

You're having lunch.

Add one chair.

You're heading somewhere and have an extra seat in the car.

Think of someone who might appreciate the outing.

The idea is simple:

Before closing the circle, look around.

Could it include one more person?

Invite the Person Who Probably Won't Ask

This may be the most important part.

Don't always invite the obvious person.

Look for the person who is quiet.

The person standing slightly apart.

The person who recently arrived.

The person who lives alone.

The person who has stopped showing up.

The person everybody recognizes but nobody really knows.

Sometimes people don't need another program.

They need an invitation.

Not:

“You should get out more.”

But:

“We're going. Come with us.”

Those are very different messages.

The first tells somebody what they should do.

The second tells them:

We want you there.

Today's A NuVo World Challenge

Think about something you're already going to do.

Nothing elaborate.

Coffee.

A walk.

Lunch.

A trip to the park.

Sitting outside.

Watching a game.

Attending an event.

Then ask yourself one question:

“Is there room for one more?”

If there is, invite somebody.

No pressure.

No obligation.

Just:

“You're welcome to join us.”

Perhaps they'll decline.

Perhaps they'll come.

Either way, someone went to bed tonight knowing that somebody thought of them.

That's not a small thing.

Imagine NDG With Thousands of Empty Chairs

Not empty because people are lonely.

Empty because we're always saving a place for someone else.

At tables.

At events.

In conversations.

In friendships.

In our lives.

Imagine children growing up seeing adults naturally make room for newcomers.

Imagine seniors knowing they haven't been forgotten.

Imagine someone arriving in NDG knowing absolutely nobody—and within a few weeks having somewhere to go.

Imagine a neighbourhood where invitations are common enough that loneliness has fewer places to hide.

That is the kind of NDG I dream about.

Not merely friendly.

Inclusive.

Not simply saying hello.

Making room.

Big community programs matter.

But sometimes belonging begins with something wonderfully ordinary.

Someone looks around.

Notices an empty chair.

Notices a person standing alone.

And connects the two.

“Come sit with us.”

Four words.

One chair.

One invitation.

Perhaps one new friendship.

And another tiny piece of A NuVo World comes alive right here in NDG.

Today, leave room for one more.

Because nobody should have to wonder whether there is a place for them in their own neighbourhood.

A NuVo World — creating a NuVo, better world one day, one neighbour and one open chair at a time.

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