Those who think and those who won’t

Saturday, September 29th, 2007

One person acting alone doesn’t make that big a difference, it’s true. But I find it makes me feel a little better than simply moaning but doing nothing. And if more people do the good things, then the differences start to become increasingly obvious between those who will (think of others, and the planet) and those who won’t (think of anything other than themselves).

I went for a walk near our home this morning and was upset to find a plastic fizzy drink bottle discarded on the road along with two packets of crisps, one empty and one unopened. I picked up all three and took them home, putting them into the bin.

I have no time for people who litter, and there is never any excuse—especially in the countryside. I mean, I didn’t have a bag with me to put the litter into, so I carried it home in my hands. Why couldn’t the person who dropped it do the same thing? My sixth sense told me it was a kid who dropped the rubbish, but if there was a parent with the child, where was the parenting? And if there wasn’t, why was the kid not brought up to know better?

Reminder of ignorant selfish people aside, my walk was short but lovely. It was raining, an incredibly fine mist that was kind of like one of those diffuser sprays, making me feel very refreshed and recharged. I watched the geese from the farm across the road come out of their sheds and walk down to the pond in single file, hundreds of them. When they got to the pond they began to gossip and share whatever counts as news in the goose-world. It was wonderful.

categories: rattle bag