Every morning I wake and head for a walk through the forest. I find it a great way to wake up and get my body moving for the day ahead.

I walk my way up the hill towards ruins that remain, a little sanctuary at the top most people walk to. There isn’t much left, but it’s a flat cement pad, with large steps one can sit on and look into the valley.

I walk here every day, sometimes twice. Sometimes I’ll find a wrapper discarded, a coffee mug forgotten…  On Friday morning when I arrived I noticed there were two Tim Hortons disposable coffee cups there, along with a chip bag, and a few discarded and empty cigarette packs. This reminded me of a few weeks earlier when I found a discarded sleeping bag, camping chair, and tent poles thrown into a copse of 7 year old trees nearby.

When I come across garbage, I usually pick it it up and carry it down. It happens sometimes, sometimes you sit down and put whatever it is you were holding down, and then forget it when you move on. I understand this. It’s ok.

The next day I returned, there was another Tim Hortons disposable coffee cup, smashed bottles, more empty cigarette packs, and a discarded pair of gym shoes. Being mid-run, and slightly annoyed, I left without picking it up.

Now today, for the third day in a row I’ve come across even more garbage. There are more bottles smashed, beer cans crushed, clothing strewn around, coffee cups tossed aside, and empty bags of chips floating with the wind…

Needless to say I’m not impressed.

We can do better than this world.

The positive note comes to me from a neighbour. Apparently there was a party up there on Friday, and one of the neighbors went up there after with a few bags to pick up all the bottles. Two garbage bags full!

When we litter, when we discard, it doesn’t just disappear, it lands in somebodies front lawn where they must take care of it, like it or not.