Trash

One symptom of lack of respect for the environment is the amount of litter strewn over my neighborhood's streets daily by people in cars and on foot. I am fortunate to live among people who generally pick up in front of their property. But this is a daily struggle due to the irresponsibility of those who pass through our neighborhood. For example, this morning I was treated to half-full take-out food containers from the bistro down the street. Someone discarded the containers and the bag that contained them in front of my house.

 

We live with an elderly black cat who is more meticulous with her environment than these humans, who would surely say they are superior in intelligence and evolution to our feline friend. Is there any wonder why the government which represents this population  are blasé about climate change and other human-caused environmental issues like fracking?

 

I believe my attitude and behavior toward my personal environment reflects my internal environment. In other words, I would be prone to believe a littering slob probably has little going on in his/her mind other than his/her next donut or hamburger. We live in a time when the lowest materialistic minds scream against taxation for vital human and civic services, yet demand emergency assistance from government at every turn. This belies a concerning level of society-wide immaturity.

 

I see humanism as encompassing these simplest of behaviors in the human environment. Mindfulness which leads to compassion is far more advanced than the mindfulness that causes a driver to dispose of his/her Dunkin Donuts trash responsibly. One form of mindfulness, beginning with the simplest things, leads to the other forms of mindfulness in more complicated situations. Practicing the simplest daily forms of mindfulness and responsible behavior in any environment leads to a mind which is focused and more likely to pay attention to life's greater questions.