NEUTRALIZE THE FEAR of infection and disease

By Richard Bergenheim

A Number Of Years Ago , my wife and I bought our first co-op apartment in New York City. After a few months, we received a notice about the annual business meeting for the co-op, which all tenants were expected to attend. The second half of the meeting was open to anyone to pose questions and to consider any new proposals for the building's maintenance.

This part of the meeting was an eye-opener. About half the residents were gravely concerned about the great dangers of city living. They wanted more locks on the doors, mirrors at the corners so you could see down the hallway, some sort of security system in the laundry room, more alarms.

The other half of the residents felt they were living in one of the safest areas of the city. Basic security precautions were important, but this group was enjoying freedom from fear and concern. So even though we were all living on the same block, in the same building, tenants were living in two mental worlds. One was safe; the other felt danger lurking outside each apartment door.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Grace and the Mind we all belong to