The individual is an important factor in taking care of the environment. However, we all factor in to the larger community, and often times we are more inspired to nurture, protect and participate when we see others doing the same. We learn from each other and from our surroundings. And there is perhaps nothing more disappointing than when we see someone trashing something that we have just worked so hard to clean up. On the other hand, people are less likely to disrespect/ vandalize/ trash a clean environment and especially one that the whole community visibly takes care of.
When I was about 7 years old, I experienced this directly. It had been an especially dry and I remember making trips to a local spring about 5-10 miles from our house since our well had gone dry. The mouth of the stream fed by the spring was littered with a few plastic grocery bags and items that looked like someone had cleaned out their car: soda bottles, cigarette boxes, tissue, candy wrappers, and beer cans. I still relive the stunning feeling of disbelief that someone would carelessly discard their waste at the very source of natural sustenance. It seemed so strongly against the very basic instinct that all creatures share: don’t shit where you eat (or sleep, for that matter).
On future trips to the spring, more garbage had showed up. Eventually, someone’s kitchen scraps (I remember eggshells) made it to the stream. I don’t remember who suggested it, but my mother and I decided one day to take trash bags along with us on our trip to the spring and clean up the disgusting mess. I think we even separated out the bottles and cans to be recycled. From that time on, as long as we frequented the spring for our water, no more trash showed up. This was such a valuable lesson that has stayed with me ever since: the earth is everybody’s and nobody’s at the same time; if you don’t take care of it, where will you live? What I mean by that is to treat the environment with the same respect and honor with which you treat your own house/ yard/ apartment. And when you see others have trashed it, take the initiative to clean it up - whether it means you pick up a stray flier or cellophane wrapper on the sidewalk, or organize a community “block cleaning day.”
When people see other people engaging in a specific activity, it is human nature that a personal thought process/ recognition develops in response to the observation. Whether the observer’s conclusion happens to be “weirdo” or “that’s a good idea”, the next time they see trash on the sidewalk or actually throw trash on the sidewalk they may recall that time they saw someone cleaning it up. It may take many similar observances before they start thinking about it, or it may not change anything at all, but it has two very positive possibilities: that the community will take care of their environment, and that it may inspire others to do the same.
The relationship of the individual to the community is one of many micro-to-macrocosm relationships that exist. I point this out because when it comes to our own role within the universe, we can find ways to downplay our individual importance/ significance when it works out to be convenient. I’m sure we can all think of a situation where we said “what difference would me doing ‘x’ make?” However, when you start to multiply individual participation across the spectrum of the community/ world, you can only increase the benefits. Unless of course you do nothing and then 1×0 = 0. And who really wants to be a nobody?
You don’t have to go all out and reform your entire lifestyle to have an impact; just being conscious of what your lifestyle is, being comfortable with the choices you do make, and being aware of your surroundings can have a positive effect. And if you see a way that you can honor and give back to the greater community, then all the better.
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