I sort of spoke out the following when driving on a road laden with trash, a road where the fields to the sides were honey-gold, the sun was a smiling, the trees spoke green of growth, love, and content. Yet the trash scarred the landscape, making it appear like a track runner with one leg. So this came out, just mumbled out over Herbie Hancock driving along at 55 on a windy little road, mumbled in my bumbling Southern Accent (it seems to come out when I start to speak earnestly).



The other day I saw a person drop a candy wrapper on the ground before consuming the little morsel of sugary goodness. I picked the wrapper up, tapped the person on the shoulder, and said, “I think you dropped something.” The candy wrapper was forced into a pocket and the person hustled away.

That little candy wrapper got me thinking. Why would a person drop a piece of trash on the ground? Why ignore the trash can just a few yards away? Why not stuff the plastic in a pocket for disposal later? How did this world get to the point where people find that they are unable to make a true difference?

We have to realize that every single human being is important. Each individual has the power to change this world. The little steps, the signs of caring, they carry the greatest weight. From the moment one becomes self aware until the day they die, it is in their power to control how this world progresses. We all are a part of this world, and it is our duty to protect it.

Look around once in a while. Think about the amazing place we live. There is so much beauty, why so carelessly destroy it? Take those little steps. Make the little moves. Don’t feed the wildfire of apathy and carelessness.

The key to making the world a better place is to value each and every person the same. It doesn’t matter if you are male or female. It doesn’t matter if you are skinny or fat. It doesn’t matter if you are black or white or yellow or brown. It doesn’t matter if you speak English, French, German, Afrikaans, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, or Spanish. It doesn’t matter if home is in North America or Madagascar, or if there is a home at all. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor. It doesn’t matter where you’ve gone in the past or where you future leads you. You are a human being. You are important.

We must realize life is a precious gift and it is our glorious burden to preserve and improve this world for those who begin their journey tomorrow. We must realize that our actions, no matter how small they seem, really do make a difference.

Next time you see a piece of trash laying on the ground, or an elderly person struggling, or someone in need of a smile, what are you going to do? Don’t ignore your capacity to change or the magnitude of a simple friendly act towards another.

The true question you must ask yourself is how you can best act to make this a better world.