The natural beauty of our earth is breathtakingly stunning. In all of its amazing diversity, there truly is nowhere in the natural world that isn’t awe-inspiring. Prairie, plains, mountains, mesa’s, rocky coastlines, canyons, swamps, forests, bogs, deserts, beaches. All of it divinely perfect on its own.
We as humans can be a co-creator within this splendor. A perfectly proportioned, well thought out building, crafted from local natural materials, situated harmoniously within the landscape can exert a calming influence upon all who encounter it and be a place of peace. Unfortunately this is extremely rare.
Strip malls, fast food joints and convenience stores are far more common. And the detritus from human purchases then becomes an issue.
While walking, it is impossible not to notice that litter is rampant. Mostly beer and soda, cans and bottles, fast food containers and wrappers, cigarette pack boxes and junk. Appliances, sofas and mattresses line the gullies and ditches along the sides of roadways.
I am always deeply saddened by this. The majesty of living trees, surrounded by carelessly discarded items of human wastefulness is alarming. Birds are singing glorious songs, flowers are sharing their miraculous form, color and fragrance and right next them are human generated trash. I do not understand. Why is this?
Certainly many reasons for this behavior come to mind, but I can’t really know what causes another to act the way that they do. So, I invite anyone who throws items out of their windows while driving, to write in, anonymously if need be, and share what they think and feel when they do this. I would like to understand and offer my help in potentially modifying this behavior, while asking myself “what are the ways in which I am not caring for my own surroundings?”
To appease my sadness besides writing, I invite you to join me for an hour or so in beginning to clean up outer Independence starting at Brangus on Sunday morning at 7:30 am. Together we can begin our Sunday by caring for our first sanctuary, our earth.
Matthew Scala,
Shawnee
