WHY DO NEGATIVE COMMENTS BOTHER ME SO MUCH?

 

I had a wonderful night.  I picked up 2,229 pieces of trash, and again, I picked up in one night what it used to take four days to pick up.

I just started cleaning this area, and you can see it's all new trash.  Very easy to pick up.  A young woman walked by and said, "It's a waste of time to pick up that trash."

It was getting dark, and I don't like being out late, so I didn't say anything to her, but her comment kept eating at me.  Why?

Maybe because it's so easy to clean up.  Instead of walking by a dumpsite every day, why doesn't she help pick it up.  This is her home, not mine.

Maybe it bothered me, because I'm working so hard, and I can see a huge difference.

Look at that and now look at this.  Does it even look like the same street?

Maybe it bothered me, because I don't hardly ever hear negative comments.  And I know I should have stopped what I was doing and told her my story.  It might have made a difference in her life.

If somebody doesn't pick up the trash on this street, imagine what it would look like.  I know exactly what it could look like, because I saw it last summer when I cleaned this street for the first time.

When I pick up this much trash in areas this big, I hurt.  My left knee used to hurt.  Now it's my right leg and hip.  I know I should cut back, but there's so much to do.

I drove home tonight, and Wilbeth Road is trash free from Arlington Road to my house.  I did that.  

That young woman may never know how good it feels to feel this good.