Neighbor repeatedly mows resident's lawn without asking, then tries to extort them: ‘I didn't ask for the services and I'm not paying’

Extortion doesn't need to be on a grand scale for it to be considered morally wrong. Take this entitled neighbor's sneaky lawn-mowing tactics, for example.

Forming friendly, beneficial relationships with your surrounding neighbors ensures you will always have at least one person in proximity to your home, in case you need their help for miscellaneous reasons like lawn care, pet feedings, and the like. Neighborly friendships, unfortunately, tend to be a double-edged sword.

Do we want to walk about the world with a suspicious chip on our shoulder, worrying about every person we meet having an ulterior motive? No. Do we have to embrace discomfort and question everything, still? Yes. This life isn't a Seth Rogen movie, and your neighbors won't miraculously make up with you after an hour or two of joint hijinks.

It takes a special kind of neighbor to offer their services for nothing in return, only to throw it back in the face of the neighbor they supposedly helped out of the goodness of their heart. Take a snow day, for example. You'd probably shovel your elderly neighbor's front steps if you're already outside shoveling the snow on your property. It only takes a few minutes to be kind, after all. Does this kindness extend to regular shoveling? Likely not, and it's not expected of you, either. When this neighbor decides to mow another resident's lawn, no questions asked, the resident suspects nothing of it. They even gift them a card. Tensions rise when the neighbor arrives at the resident's doorstep with an invoice for his lawn-mowing services. Scroll below to continue reading.

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"Neighbor keeps mowing my lawn without asking and now wants payment"

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When does a normal person become suspicious of a good deed? We've been conditioned to expect the worst in people, but in some weird reverse-psychological way, prompts us to think of our suspicions as overly cautious.
The resident's initial instinct regarding the situation was correct, but they decided to reject their suspicions because it's exhausting to expect everyone to be the worst person you know. How will we ever accept good deeds if we are cautious of good people? Finding the balance between naiveté and paranoia is an artform, but most people (including me) fail to find that sweet spot. I wonder when I'll receive an invoice for people on the subway holding the train doors open for me.
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