I love reading a story that inspires me to take action. Take our article this month about Keilor Downs resident Julian Reynolds; a regular bloke who’s seen a problem and decided to take matters into his own hands. Each weekend he collects rubbish from his neighbourhood; rubbish that other thoughtless individuals have dumped.
A simple remedy for a mammoth problem. And yes, one man picking up rubbish is hardly going to rid the world of waste, but imagine if everyone took his lead and picked up rubbish when they saw it. Imagine if everyone decided to help out just a little bit more. Imagine if everyone, upon seeing a problem with a solution, thought yep, I can do something to help here.
It’s an attitude that the world could use a little more of quite frankly and reminds me of the old JFK refrain “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
If everyone spent just one hour a week collecting rubbish, our ecosystem, and all the critters that share it with us, would benefit enormously. And it’s not just great for the environment. There’s a growing body of evidence which shows that picking up litter is good for the soul and improves our mental health. Doing good feels good.
Julian’s example has reminded me how easy it is to do something positive. Each morning as I walk my dogs along the foreshore I now take a few extra minutes to collect some of the plastic waste that washes up along it. So thanks Julian, and everyone else who’s taken it upon themselves to ‘chuck in’ and fix a few problems that they haven’t necessarily created themselves. You are an inspiration and I’m so glad there are people like you in the world.
