to begin, begin…

Today was groundbreaking day. While visiting the city of San Carlos, California, I decided to purchase a handheld reacher (one of those grabbing sticks you see people use for ease of reaching random objects - these are useful tools and even pick up cigarette butts).

I mostly stayed along San Carlos Ave. but also detoured onto Chestnut St., Magnolia Ave., Elm St., Holly St., and Walnut St. Only a meager mile in total distance with my coming-and-going but I still collected 3 full bags, nearly 22 pounds of litter altogether, and passed the majority of the afternoon in this way.

With the intention to remain present to the awe and beauty around me, I especially loved the sound of birds; they kept me company. While I said hello to passers-by, only one person inquired about my activity. “Thank you! Is this part of some volunteer group?” he asked. I replied to him, “No, I just want to.” We both smiled and he thanked me again. Focused mostly on my task, I didn’t pay much attention to the cars quickly passing by. However, as one gentleman was pulling into a parking lot, I caught the friendly “thumbs up” he gave me.

Today was a beautiful day. And, coming across a discarded shoe, a child’s shoe, I was reminded of this wisdom:

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - attributed to Lao Tzu