Random Kindness

​I am an environmentalist.  Not like, an environmentalist that goes around saying, “Save the trees man…”  Not like that kind of environmentalist (I have nothing against those people).  Hmm.. maybe a better word it is I am a conservationist.  I do care about our world a lot.  I find peace and enjoyment being outdoors, enjoying the beauty of nature.  So I guess it is natural for me to love fishing, I like to practice, catch and release, especially if it is a big fish.  I do that in hopes that some kid, maybe my kid might hook into it, and hopefully learn to enjoy the outdoors. 

Wherever I go to fish, I love just seeing the beauty of nature.  Seeing the fish jump, the colorful, birds, the bees buzzing, and the occasional deer that scampers off.  I enjoy the sight of it all, and I think it is really important that we enjoy what God has created for us.  All this nature is for us to enjoy and be in we of His majestic glory!  I think it is our responsibility is to take care of it, so that future generations can enjoy it as well.

What I cannot stand is people who trash our parks and recreational areas.  It really bothers the hell out of me.  I wonder if it is really that hard to pick up your own trash before leaving?!  I mean, that’s the least you can do.  I mean there are a ton of trash cans nearby that you can dump your stuff at.  Or if you know you will have trash with you, just carry a trash bag, it fits in your pocket perfectly well.  The worst for me is seeing fishing trash just littering the shorelines.  I will see empty Styrofoam cups that used to hold worms, or plastic packages of artificial baits, or fishing line that’s just thrown on the ground. 

What can I do?  Well first, I don’t leave my trash laying around.  But what I will do is pick up as much other people’s trash as much as possible.  It seems like an endless and pointless task.  There will always be more trash to pick up and even the trash I pick up today, I know Ill find more next week.  So why do I keep on doing it?

I do it because I imagine that if I don’t do it, the trash is just going to pile up and we can no longer enjoy nature.  I do it because I imagine a lot of people doing the same thing I am doing.  That they are picking up other people’s trash.  Even though there may be a lot of people littering, I do believe that there are also some people who are making the extra effort to be themselves clean and clean up after others.  That makes me feel good.
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Every small effort in life does matter and could go a long way.  Not just in taking care of nature, but in other things such as random acts of kindness.  It may seem small and effortless, but it can have an impact on other’s lives and also you never know who you meet that just needs a smile, or a simple, “How are you?”  You may never know how much it may mean to another person to just listen to them.  Think about every positive reaction can cause a ripple effect.  Like a pebble that falls into he water, that ripple just keeps going and going and going.  The small gestures to you do to other people, can be infectious and may cause another person to do a random act of effortless kindness, and then the next and the next, so that not only will our world be cleaner, but happier.