Michelle and Ed

Ever since I found out about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, I have been working harder than ever to make sure that every plastic bottle or bag that crosses my path gets recycled.  And even though I have been picking up litter every day and everywhere, it had been feeling like it's a losing battle.  It continues to accumulate, especially around the train stations.

I am hopeful though thanks to Michelle, a kindred spirit who lives a few blocks from me. I liked her the first day that I met her. But now I like her even more because she has made me realize that I'm not alone.

Michelle tells me that she also picks up litter on a daily basis. And that's not all. "See those flowers over there?" She points to what used to be a raggedy patch of dirt near the alley. "My neighbor and I planted those."

I then tell her about my unofficial litter patrol. The people who ask me for money on the street work with me. I give them my spare cash if they walk a few blocks with me and help me recycle and throw away litter. I tell her about how really helpful Ed has been and that I find out a lot about him as we work.

For example, he walks on the side of his feet for a reason. They hurt. A few years ago he had to jump from a window to escape a fire in an apartment building on Chicago's west side. 

He never knew his mother and rarely sees his brother. But he really likes living in our neighborhood because people help him. He's wearing new sneakers that one of the other neighbors recently bought him. 

Well guess what? Michelle knows Ed pretty well too. She and her husband last winter bought him a scarf. 

There are many more people like Ed who live on the fringes and there always seems to be trash thrown around by the train stations and bare patches of dirt where flowers could grow. 

But I'm grateful for Ed and the others who are willing to tell me their stories and help me keep our community clean. And I'm grateful for Michelle and the guerilla gardeners and all those who practice random acts of kindness. 

Acts of kindness can make you happy too. Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, has discovered through research that performing random acts of kindness increases our sense of well being.  

I think you'll really love this video from the Global Oneness Project.

"Wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for kindness." 

Seneca