I was lucky enough to see synchronicity in action this morning! It is so nice to see it in action, although it always amazes me when I see it. Perhaps it is a form of pass it forward, or maybe it is just coincidence, but I am grateful to see it all the same. I went out for my morning walk and what did I see? I saw a group of people out with trash bags picking up trash along the walking path!
What a sight, there was a group of about eight people out with their bags and some sticks with nails on the end to spear the trash on the ground. They were out there with their bags half full, or half empty, depending on your personal take. As I walked along the walking path I made it a point to thank each of them. I want them to know I appreciate their time and effort making the park cleaner.
They appeared to be enjoying themselves, which is a normal feeling from knowing you are doing something of value for others even if they do not see you doing it. I hope this group whoever they are, out there cleaning up the walking path decide this is something they can do on a regular basis, and not just a one time spring clean up effort. It would be good to see more people involved in keeping their walking areas clean.
Which brings me to another sore spot of walking paths besides the trash people drop all over the place. People walk their dogs along the paths too, and do not bother to clean up after them. My guess is they don’t think about it, because for many of them they make a quick walk through and they are gone. But what their dog’s leave is not something that is cleaned up by the fairies that come out of their homes after everyone leaves, and turn dog crap into gold dust. Here in the desert where we get twelve inches of rain a year on average that dog waste is there for a long while. I suppose my point is if you have a dog and you take it for walks, it is likely a public area, and kids and other adults use that area too, so please clean up after your dog.
I have rediscovered and enjoyable way to get outside and enjoy the day now that spring weather is here. I found a book on diet and health that explains eating, health and exercise better than any book I have ever read. One of the ideas the book promotes is strolling after meals. Strolling is a slow meandering walk. You are moving, but not trying to walk for exercise. I have been wanting to actually lose weight rather than starve for about five months now, and this book came along. Synchronicity in action?
This book promotes strolling for twenty minutes after each meal. Not less than twenty minutes and not a whole lot more than twenty minutes as it tends to make your stomach stop the digestive process which is not the intent. I have been strolling after meals for a week now, and I find I am really enjoying this slow walk. Walking at a slower pace lets me observe more, and pay more attention to what I see. For example the Crocus’ are starting to bloom and walking slower gives me a chance to enjoy them.
During my work week, strolling feels like a nice a extra break after my meal, and a chance to walk away from the job for twenty minutes. In the past I would eat and cruise the internet for those twenty minutes. That twenty minute walk away from work is a nice relaxing break. I have noticed the afternoons now seem to go more quickly, probably because I have broken what was a boring pattern of lunch, net, work.
So, I really do not know if the people collecting trash was because one of them saw me out more than once collecting trash myself, or it is something they are doing because they wanted to do something for their neighborhood, but I would like to think it is sychronicity in action.
I went to a drive through for breakfast this morning. The bill was $3.20. I had a five so I handed it to the young woman working the window and told her to keep the change, she did. This young woman and I had differing ideas on what change was. My idea of change was literal, and her idea of change was figurative. I do not know if for the young woman, a $1.80 tip is the norm for a $3.20 bill, or her command of the meaning of everyday words is not that strong. I let it slide, and I let her keep all the change plus a dollar bill. There is a reason why these types of jobs exist, and I know how hard life is hard on a paycheck like that, even if there is another paycheck to help out.
I spent my morning reminding myself the next time I go through the drive through, and that particular young woman is at the window, to be very clear about what portion of my ‘change’ is to be hers. While this thought was floating through the back of my mind, I thought about how silly I was being over the whole thing. I could have asked for the dollar bill and explained a paper bill was not change. My other option was just what I did. In general, a dollar bill is not going to have a big impact in my finances, but it may mean much more to her.
Lunch rolled around and I went to a burger place. Yes, I live high on the hog, at least I ate sitting in a building for lunch. I did not feel like fries, so I set them to the side to give to the birds later. I ate my burger, and I drank my soda listening to the hum of conversation around me.
There is a gas station right next door with fairly good coffee. For me lunch is not complete without a cup of coffee. I fixed myself a cup of coffee and there were those packets of tasty cookies right next to the coffee. One of the brands I like the taste of. The man behind the counter says what is going on? I wasn’t sure he was speaking to me, so I did not answer. He walked out from the counter as I walked up to the counter, and asked if that was all I wanted today? I said yes, just a cup of coffee and the cookies ($1.96).
The Man said it as on the house. I asked if he was sure, and he said yes, he can do that now and then. Besides he added, the coffee was getting old anyway. I saw the last drips of the coffee being made as it dropped into the pot I poured from, so I knew it was not old coffee. I thanked him, meaning every word of the, “Thank you”. He said to me, “God bless you”, and I said, “You too”.
As I was walking out of the store to my truck, I thought once again of the young woman at the drive in window. I really am blessed I thought, and today my generosity combined with her play on words, that I was paid back. Somehow things like this always work in my favor, but today I felt a little guilty because I know without a doubt the morning mix up was half my fault, and here I was being repaid at a gas station five hours later.
Little things like this happen all the time in my life over the last years. I have found the more I pay attention and the more grateful I am when they happen, they seem to happen more often and become more obvious. I can’t really say they never happened before to me. They may have happened and I was just to wrapped up in my own little world, to notice how magical daily life really is!
It was another trash collecting day at the park. Only this time the world or at least the park portion of it conspired; although I am not sure it was a conspiracy with negative connotations as the definition suggests. The weather is a little drizzly, so I did not want to spend any time outside getting wet. I did not want to pick up soggy trash either.
I decided that at 2 o’clock if it was still drizzling, I would stay indoors and do something worthwhile inside. Just before the appointed time the drizzle stopped, synchronicity in action. Okay, I get to go spend a quiet hour outside, but no trash today, it’s too wet and muddy.
As I am walking around the path I noticed trash on the ground was worse than usual. Too bad, I thought to myself feeling smug, I did not bring a bag. As conspiracies go there was not one bag, but three bags laying along the path. Ranging in size of a small grocery bag, to a big forty gallon trash bag I felt a little trapped by the park. I ignored the first bag, also the second bag, but the third bag was too much. I resigned myself to picking up some soggy trash today, synchronicity in action.
There was also a junior high school class out for PE about the same time using the park. I imagine that at least a few of the kids are guilty of dropping candy wrappers, and other assorted things they suddenly did not want while walking home. They and their teachers had a first hand view of someone picking up trash who was not part of the city bed and breakfast program. I thought this was a good learning experience for them, to see little elves do not come out early in the morning and clean up their trash for them.
One thought I had while walking and picking put everything in perspective. In accelerated learning it is not important that the learner be actively engaged for the lesson to have an impact on them. They only have to be present and quiet when the lesson is given. Studies have found that in this state of mind we are at our most receptive even though from an observational view it looks as if we have checked out.
So these kids, and their teachers were being shown a small lesson in civic responsibility. Nothing as dramatic as the motivational movie, Pass It On as the scale is much smaller, but the idea applies all the same.
That led me to me wondering about other areas of our civic life, and our programming here in the United States. Somehow we have developed into a nation who think there are people who wander around behind us straightening up the mess we leave behind.
We throw our trash out the window of our cars because we are done eating whatever it was covering. Some of us can even find reasons to justify our actions. Along city streets where trash is prevalent, we walk past it knowing it is not our job to pick any of the trash up. Yet if you are anything like me, you are the first to complain about how unsightly an area looks, ironic as that sounds.
Rather than rambling on farther today, I thought I would end with what I thought is an interesting link. Between the blog entry and comments there is some food for thought about civic and personal responsibility. Here is a blog entry from the founding developer of WordPress software on which my blog runs, and some replies. Hopefully you will find Mathew Mullenweg’s thoughts, and the replies interesting too. Someday civic responsibility may be a non-issue, but for now, your neighborhood needs your help.
