Someone once told me when they looked at the world, they saw garbage. It was a jarring revelation—something I could not myself envision.
I realize we all have our own lens on life, but I had never experienced a world of rot and decay, instead of colour and life. Perhaps the glare of my own sunnier disposition blinded me from considering such a drastic difference in perceived reality. Maybe to others, the world is not the same as I see it.
I consider myself a realist, so I suspect my perspective is somewhere between rose-coloured, and trash, but it is always topped with optimism. I naturally see the beauty in things, rather than the ugliness..
There are times when the road ahead looks like a forest in a Tim Burton movie, figuratively filled with bumps and obstacles, cobwebs and vines, but not literally. The world through my eyes, even on the dimmest day, is still filled with a lot of light.
The reality is, we all have to deal with our share of trash. Sometimes, that is what we are dealt, and there is no way around it. There is no doubt some people have more than their share of garbage to deal with. Maybe some of us are simply better at pretending it’s not there. That doesn’t mean it is not, and it doesn’t make it go away. Walking past it just leaves a mess for later, or for someone else to clean up. Learning to manage the mess in progress is important.
It is our responsibility to develop a collection and removal system so the garbage doesn’t pile up around us. If we let it, we risk getting stuck in the trash heap. Maybe when it reaches a critical mass large enough to bury us is when the whole world starts to look like garbage. If you are in the middle of a dump, it makes sense that’s all you’d see.
I don’t want to trivialize a serious subject. It's complicated. Regardless, there will always be garbage to deal with—that’s life!
If only there was a magical garbage truck that would come along and clean up after us. Unfortunately, there’s not. We need to pick up and dispose of the trash ourselves. Life is not all garbage, but it will be hard to see the illuminated path ahead if we don’t clear the way.
Sanitation department of one reporting for duty...