“The world is a dangerous place not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” ~Albert Einstein
It’s time to lead the change.
On a recent trip to Florida over the Fourth of July holiday, I set out for a morning walk along the beach with my family. It was the day after the big fireworks display. We were horrified by the amount of trash along the beach--there was a ton of debris, including wires, plastic pieces, and other remnants from the fireworks.
We were concerned why this mess had not been picked up. I didn’t feel right continuing my walk without doing something, especially with high tide fast approaching.
We spoke with a kind lifeguard and he said the beach was in bad shape when they arrived for work that morning. People had trashed the beach during the festivities--leaving tents, glass, and other garbage behind.
The lifeguard went on to say they did the best they could, but the clean-up crew that was scheduled to come that morning never showed up. While he shared in our concern, he said that ‘it is what it is,’ and they really couldn’t do anything else about the situation.
As far as I was concerned, that was not acceptable. So we decided to do something. We asked if they had bags and gloves--which they did--so we took some and set off to clean-up the beach ourselves.
Thankfully, there were other people on the beach that morning who felt the same way, and after seeing us get to work, they offered to help! We ended up with a group of about 10 people who pitched in and helped clean-up the beach.
When all was said and done, we had five very heavy garbage bags filled with debris leftover from the fireworks--five heavy bags of garbage that would otherwise been swept out into the Gulf of Mexico. Much of the debris would have posed a serious threat to marine life, which often mistake trash as food.
It’s sad to think what might have happened had we not lead the clean-up efforts. A lot of people just stared at us, or complained about the trash as they walked by, but very few were willing to do something about it.
That morning on the beach turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip. It also helps solidify my belief that we can be the change we want to see the in world--sometimes we just need to lead the way. :)
Until next time...
Namaste,
Julie
