Contributive Mindset
With the pandemic carving a path through California coupled with local, national, and global news feeds simmering with ongoing violent and/or peaceful protests, political unrest, and indications that dramatic change is imminent or upon us; I have decided to look inward with intentionality. I started simple by looking at expanding my daily norms and examining the purpose each action may have on the ecosystem around me. Months prior, I had watched an elderly man and his wife walking through my neighborhood. They were like any other aging couple shuffling along the sidewalk except the elderly man was picking up trash. This at first struck me as odd, but the more I thought about it I wanted to be just like him. Free to roam, explore, and engage with the internal physical/mental/spiritual construct while impacting the immediate environment in a positive way. In that moment, the unknown man planted a seed within my psyche.
It took several months for my brain to pull the trigger or better yet, for the seed to germinate and the roots to take hold. Weeks passed into the oblivion of times wretched hands. I repeatedly made off hand remarks to my wife that I wanted to add this to my walking routine, trying my best to gage how this would be accepted and making excuses why I shouldn’t implement this simple idea. Finally, all my excuses petered out and were set aside at which point I came to the conclusion that things will never change unless action is applied. I picked up a trash bag from my garage, armed myself with a plastic grabber and within three days have filled the same of number of plastic bags with trash. My ritualistic mile and half walks have quickly evolved into mini-projects that are focused on external environmental improvement. Walking routes have spontaneously adjusted to expand into new areas of my community; I venture farther seeking not the physical manifestation of the trash but rather a cleansing of my soul and to bless those I pass by. I’ll admit that I fight a negative internal stigmatization as I walk in public with a trash bag clutched in my left hand and the grabber in my right, but on the other hand I engage with persons in a completely different manner. I find myself focused on a worthwhile objective that is connected to a deeper meaning. What this purpose is I am not completely sure of just yet. Walking through neighborhoods that I had never entered or acknowledging a complete stranger within their environment bucks the American ideology of basic social interaction. And maybe this is what I strive for, to be a beautiful solid tree amongst the forest of many who releases seeds for others to sow and reap. I foresee unlimited possibilities through an expanding awareness of a contributive mindset. I can slip in and out of any community if I am willing to actively serve, contribute, and engage with love at the center.
Contributive Mindset
