“Every man must decide if he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr
For years now, my day of service in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr has been to walk the 3.5 mile stretch of road that both leads to our farm and also to public fishing and camping areas along the Snake River to pick up litter. The first year I did it, the cleanup took days to accomplish and I picked up more than 35 sacks of garbage. This year, with the help of my daughter Rachel and fellow pelegrino Fran we collected 14.
I’m not gonna lie. When picking up one beer bottle after another, or finding one of those clear plastic jugs 1/2 full of someone’s urine, I can easily forget the good aspects of the moment- the snow topped Owyhee Mountains in the distance, the crisp January air, the sun shining brightly down. I forget that I am there in all that beauty. I forget to be grateful that I am capable of making the space more breathtaking and I allow the negative thoughts to seep in. Usually my dialogue will slip into something like this: “I hate humans. Why do they have to be so careless?” Grumble. Grumble. Grumble.
When I am in that mindset, I realize what I am saying is that it isn’t just others I am ‘hating’. I’m a human too, after all and far from perfect. I find myself asking why I am being so careless as to let a thrown beer bottle ruin my perfect moment. MLK jr. had a term for this mindset: destructive selfishness. It’s then that I correct myself. I stop and look around- usually there is a hawk or some crows or a magpie flying by. I take a deep breathe and go back to enjoying the moment and the activity. I enter the service mindset.
For me, the service mindset is one in which I give of myself without judgement and I don’t question why. It’s a good thing to do and so I do it without expecting anything in return. Instead of grumbling at the people as they drive by and accusing them of being potential litter bugs, I smile and wave, and whenever I do this something delightful always happens that makes me think. This year was no exception.
A young man in his 20s pulled up to me in his pickup truck. In the passenger seat was an older man with a long beard. The young man sported an armful of tattoos, a big smile and fishing poles visible in the back of his truck. “You don’t look like a criminal working off community service hours. Are you just out here picking up garbage to clean the area up?” I nodded and told him that I had a farm nearby and just wanted the desert to stay untouched as possible and beautiful. He thanked me and said, “I always pick up garbage whenever I go fishing.”
“Thank you for that”, I said. “You take care and have a wonderful day.” And so we both did. The young man and his passenger fit the stereotype I have mistakenly created in my mind over the years of one that might carelessly and thoughtlessly trash the outdoors, that would toss one of those bottles of Bud light, yet, it turns out, these two weren’t that way at all. They care too, and do their part when they can. I was given an important reminder not to assume the worst or judge blindly. I was reminded to always look for the good in others first.
Altruism is defined as “the principle and moral practice of concern for happiness of other human beings or animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual.” I’d like to thank Martin Luther King Jr. for his wisdom and his service to our country and for reminding me on this day to choose to “walk in the light of creative altruism”.
It is Solved By Walking- St. Augustine 