Summer Speedos | Field Notes: Empty Chair
The Empty Chair
Summer Speedos is Neighbourly’s short in-between-season series while Shannon takes a break from regular interviews. Hosted by producer Johan Heinrichs, these episodes mix outdoor field notes and story-driven reflections that help us notice ordinary care in everyday places.
In this first field note, Johan records from a quiet park bench after a morning rainfall and reflects on something he noticed during his walk: an empty chair outside a house.
It might have meant nothing. Maybe someone went inside. Maybe someone was at work. Maybe the chair had simply been left behind for the day. But sometimes an empty chair can make us wonder about absence, who used to sit there, who used to show up, and who may have quietly disappeared from the rhythms we once shared.
Every community has empty chairs. A neighbour who used to wave but now keeps their head down. A friend who used to reply quickly but now takes days to answer. A volunteer who quietly steps back. A family we have not seen in a while.
Absence does not always make noise. A crisis announces itself, but absence often leaves only a small space where someone used to be. If life is busy enough, we can adjust to that space without ever asking why.
This episode is a gentle invitation to notice who is missing, not with suspicion, pressure, or a clipboard, but with care. People should not have to disappear dramatically before someone checks in.
Sometimes a simple message is enough to remind someone that they are seen:
“Hey, I noticed I haven’t seen you in a while. No pressure, just wanted to check in.”
“You came to mind today. I’m grateful for you.”
“If life has been heavy lately, you don’t have to explain it all. I just wanted you to know you are not forgotten.”
That kind of message may not fix everything, but it can tell someone something important: their absence was noticed, and their presence still matters.
In this episode
Johan reflects on:
why an empty chair can make us think about absence
how people can quietly slip out of our shared rhythms
why neighbourly care pays attention to who is missing
the tenderness of Jesus’ image of the shepherd noticing the one missing sheep
how a simple, no-pressure check-in can remind someone they are not forgotten
One small step
Think of one person who has been less present lately. Send a simple message to let them know they came to mind. You do not need to make it dramatic. Just notice, then reach out with care.
Reflection question
Who used to be part of your rhythm, and who might need a gentle check-in before the gap gets wider?
About Neighbourly
Neighbourly is a CareImpact podcast about ordinary people showing extraordinary care. Through honest stories, reflective conversations, and practical takeaways, each episode invites listeners to notice the people around them and take one simple step toward neighbourly care.
Neighbourly is produced in partnership with CareCreatives Company, helping organizations clarify their message through branding, design, websites, and audio production for social good.
Produced By:
Episode transcript Read the full transcript
Welcome to Summer Speedos
Johan Heinrichs: Welcome to Summer Speedos from Neighborly, our short in-between season series while Shannon takes a break from her regular interviews. I'm Johan, the producer of the show.
Johan Heinrichs: Some episodes are field notes recorded outside in ordinary places where care actually happens. Others are story field notes, more cinematic reflections that start with a story from history or real life. Either way, we're paying attention to the small, ordinary ways care, faith, courage, and community show up around us.
Johan Heinrichs: So grab a cold drink or head out on that bike ride, walk, or hike. Enjoy this year's edition of Summer Speedos from Neighbourly.
Field Notes on Ordinary Care
Johan Heinrichs: Hey everyone. Welcome to the Neighbourly Podcast, a podcast about ordinary people showing extraordinary care. I'm Johan, the producer of the show.
Johan Heinrichs: This summer, while Shannon takes a break from our regular interviews, we're doing a few shorter episodes called Field Notes on Ordinary Care. I'll be recording some of these while taking walks through my neighborhood, maybe some parks, trails, and places where life is actually happening.
Johan Heinrichs: Because if we're going to talk about loving our neighbors, it's probably going to help to occasionally leave the studio and stand near some actual neighbors.
Johan Heinrichs: Also, my studio is a windowless basement office, so this is partly a creative choice and partly a public health intervention. I need a little sunlight so I don't look quite so pasty, like printer paper with headphones.
The Empty Chair
Johan Heinrichs: Here I am sitting on a park bench. Birds are tweeting after a nice rainfall we had earlier this morning. Trees are green, and it's pretty quiet.
Johan Heinrichs: Anyway, on my way here on my walk, I came upon a house that had an empty chair outside. I don't know why it stopped me, but I couldn't decide whether it means absolutely nothing or maybe a little too much.
Johan Heinrichs: It was just a chair. Faded, a little tired, the kind of outdoor chair that looks like it has survived many summers and at least one family member saying, “We should really throw that out.”
Johan Heinrichs: It might mean nothing. Someone went inside. Someone is at work. Someone forgot it there and has emotionally moved on.
Johan Heinrichs: But empty chairs have a way of asking questions. Who used to sit there? Who used to show up? What kind of conversations might one have had sitting at the chair across from someone else who used to be part of the rhythm and is now not around so much?
When Absence Is Easy to Miss
Johan Heinrichs: Every community has empty chairs, not always literal ones. There's the one person who used to stay after church and now leaves quickly. The neighbor who used to wave and now keeps their head down. The friend who used to text back right away and now replies three days later, “Sorry, things have been a lot.”
Johan Heinrichs: There's the volunteer who quietly stepped back. The family you've not seen in a while. The person who did not announce a crisis. They just slowly disappeared from the pattern.
Johan Heinrichs: That kind of absence is easy to miss because it doesn't make noise. A crisis announces itself. Absence just leaves a little space where someone used to be. And if we're busy enough, we adjust without asking why.
Johan Heinrichs: That's not because we're terrible. It's because life keeps moving. But neighbourly care pays attention to absence. It asks, “Who is not here?”
The One Who Is Missing Still Belongs
Johan Heinrichs: Not in a suspicious way, not in a clipboard way, and please don't become the attendance police of human suffering, but in a loving way. The way a shepherd notices one sheep missing.
Johan Heinrichs: That image from Jesus has become so familiar that we can forget how tender it is. The one matters. The missing one matters. The person who is not visible still belongs.
Johan Heinrichs: People should not have to disappear dramatically before someone checks in. And the check-in doesn't need to be dramatic either.
A Gentle Check-In
Johan Heinrichs: Sometimes it's as simple as, “Hey, I noticed I've not seen you in a while. No pressure. I just wanted to check in.”
Johan Heinrichs: Or, “You came to mind today. I'm grateful for you.”
Johan Heinrichs: Or maybe, “If life has been heavy lately, you don't have to explain it all. I just wanted you to know that you are not forgotten.”
Johan Heinrichs: You see, that kind of message doesn't fix everything, but it does something important. It tells the person their absence was noticed and their presence matters.
This Week’s Field Note
Johan Heinrichs: So this week, maybe look for the empty chairs. Who used to be part of your rhythm? Who has gone quiet? Who might need a gentle check-in before the gaps get wider?
Johan Heinrichs: You don't need to make it dramatic. Just notice. Then reach out with care.
Johan Heinrichs: That is the field note. Keep noticing.
