TREASURE AND TRASH

When I was growing up on the island of Borneo one of the sheer delights of living right on the beach was searching for shell treasures at low tide. We would walk right out on the exposed reef and pluck the beauty right from it's home. It is amazing how intricate and colorful these shells can be, and they are made by tiny creatures! I have never made anything that incredible. You should see the bowl I made in high school that my Mom still has. I have a very different view now of these treasures from the sea. Makes me shudder to think of what we did as kids, but we didn't know that coral is a living creature and it dies when you walk on it and crush it. We also killed animals by the hundreds just to get their shells for our "collections". Now I pick them up only if they wash up on shore and have no creatures still alive inside them. The beach that I am growing up on all over again here on Kauai has fantastic shells that wash up because the reef just offshore is still so alive. Every day there are people there combing the sand for their daily treasure. And every day I am there combing the sand for the daily trash that has washed up. The ocean gives us beauty and we give her garbage.

It drives me NUTS that people are taking treasure from the ocean but they won't help her out by picking up the trash that has washed up RIGHT NEXT TO THE SHELL THEY ARE PICKING UP! I always hope that teaching by example really works, but I must say it doesn't seem to in this case. The shell pickers often ask me to show them what I am picking up because they assume I am also gleaning treasure. When I show them the trash some just walk away without saying anything, some say "good for you" or some such thing, and a few say "oh I pick up trash too". The voice in my head that doesn't come out my throat says "then why is it all still here???? Oh you mean you pick up every third Monday of the month." I can't say it out loud because how can that possibly go well? But guess what? We create trash every single day. The Earth doesn't get a day off from our onslaught. People take gifts from her every single day, but they don't HELP her every single day. So damaging her 30 days in a month and helping her 1 day a month?

Now take a moment with this picture.
This is what we as humans have done. This used to be a river that gave treasure to the people that live along its banks. We have given it trash in return. When I first saw the picture I thought well that right there is why there is so much washing up from the ocean when rivers like this empty into her. Then a more sobering thought: the U.S. is the largest polluter in the entire world. Some of you reading this are also in this country. This river is NOT in the U.S., so we are polluting MORE than what is in this picture. WOW. Are we willing to choose different habits? Are we willing to create less trash so we change this contribution to the world, no matter where we live?

When was the last time you went through an entire day without throwing away anything? Not one piece of trash for an entire day. Just try it. No, I don't mean store it somewhere and then throw it out the next day! It is astounding what happens when you try this. You become conscious really fast! I live a fairly simple life and I found so many things in my hand about to be thrown out in just one day. If you can go for one day without generating one speck of trash then try for two. Then more.

The other day there was a HUGE pile that washed up in one particular spot on the beach. I began piling it up in the trees so it wouldn't wash back out and I could come back and get it later. There was way too much to carry in my usual grocery sized bag. It eventually filled one of those giant barrel liner bags, and all from one day's high tide. There was a woman who stood watching me for about 20 minutes as I made trip after trip to get it all up past the high tide line. She is someone I have chatted with before so I know she believes that God created all this beauty around us. I got brave and went up and asked her if she would come help me care for God's creation. Are you ready for this? Her reply: "I would if I lived here"!!!!!!!!!! WHAT? I am stunned. I don't know how to reply. She is one of these people who comes for several months in the winter but her primary residence is on the mainland. Well guess what? WE ALL LIVE HERE. We ALL live on this planet. We ALL create trash. We ALL can help deal with it wherever we are. It's not someone else's mess to clean up. It is our mess. Those little kids floating in that river don't deserve an Earth that is even going to be WORSE than that when they grow up.

So let's change what we are doing. Don't ever take a day off from helping. Don't ever just take treasure and leave trash. We've GOT to make different choices before that picture above is the picture of every river and ocean on the planet. So...how much did you throw out today? I'd love to hear what you discover as you try to go through a day or week without creating a single piece of trash.
Thanks for listening.