Mythos & Marginalia

life notes; flaws and all

j.g. lewis

original content and images ©j.g. lewis

a daily breath...

A thought du jour, my daily breath includes collected and conceived observations, questions of life, fortune cookie philosophies, reminders, messages of peace and simplicity, unsolicited advice, inspirations, quotes and words that got me thinking. They may get you thinking too . . .

Mondays are just young Fridays

What are a few days between seasons? As if a shadow could tell of the time and temperature range from hour to day, today or tomorrow, or last season.
   Summer to fall. Now is not a fixed period, as was yesterday or last week. Those periods of time are fluid, ever changing, but still somewhat definite in our minds for the time being representing the periods or eras of our presence here on earth.
   How we measure our time, any time, always includes a proviso. The conditions we set will influence what is to come, as much as what has happened.
   How can you explain yourself when a short-term view overrides the obvious long-term accumulation of thought and experience.
   This time is yours; how you chose to share it will differ from day to day.

09/25/2023                                                                                                j.g.l.

unclear

 

You wander.
We all do.

Uncertainty can often
blur your surroundings.

Unclear.

The map is always there,
the lines signify the path
you need to follow.

You simply have to find
the direction.

It is all in your hands.

© 2017 j.g. lewis

 

gr@ffiti

               Anguish or confusion, 
        sometimes it is the way. 
      Anxiety takes over. 
        What else can you say  
     as you try to put aside all 
     the feelings that dog you 
   anyway.    No pain today.  
           Try as you might to
    see your way through. 
       No pain.    Not today. 

09/14/2023                                                               j.g.l.

I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.

j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.

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Doing More

Posted on December 23, 2020 by j.g.lewis Leave a comment

Walking home yesterday with my morning coffee, I watched the man ahead of me in the intersection bend over and pick up an empty plastic soda bottle from the street.
   He then not only stepped over to pick up a flattened paper coffee cup next to the curb, he continued stepping along the sidewalk picking up a wad of paper, then another single-serve beverage container which had been carelessly discarded of by an uncaring person as if it was somebody else’s problem.
   And here was this young man, perhaps a student or a guy off to work, a regular ordinary man taking his time to pick up someone else’s litter.
   I continued watching the guy as I passed through the intersection, and then crossed the street in the other direction. He picked up several more pieces of refuse before depositing it all into a street-corner recycling bin like the one on many streets in this city’s downtown.
   These recycling bins are not new to Toronto, and would have been there at the same time whomever possessed the bottle originally chose to toss it to the curb.
   This man, this regular guy, took the time — he took his time — to pick up after somebody else.
   He continued down the sidewalk on the way to wherever, as I continued to watch, and walk on.
   Shame. On. Me.
   I think, or thought at the moment, I was seeing the same concern for the environment than I had at one time. I began thinking it was more of a concern for the environment that I used to hold close.
   Look at me now; I just walk on by.
   I saw a couple of other coffee cups, and a water bottle or two, as I made my way home with coffee in hand, but I didn’t bother picking them up.
   I was too lost in thought.
   Now, I like to think of myself as a committed environmentalist. I continually recycle all that I can with my blue box (and remind myself how much material can be recycled each time I walk the contents down to the condo building’s recycling room). I walk, or take public transit, more than I ever have before, at times going weeks between trips in my car.
   And before COVID-19 hit us almost 10 months ago, I would often take my refillable travel mug with me to Starbucks. The company temporarily discontinued use of refillable cups in the early days of the pandemic, but I use one when I can. I even use reusable mesh cloth bags for my fruit and vegetables (instead of plastic) when shopping at the market (when I remember to pack them) along with my well-used cloth grocery bags.
   What I do, regularly and with consistency, are habitual things I do to do my part.
   This guy was doing more.
   I used to be that guy. I used to do more.
   When my daughter was young we used to stop and pick up bottles or cans on the street and drop them into our blue box at home. Heck, one spring when we lived in rural Manitoba, we cleared out a ditch on the road into town over a stretch of time. We filled the trunk of our car many times over with recyclable materials. We drove it to the recycling depot with a sense of pride.
   The environment, then, didn’t feel like it was everybody’s problem, we made it our problem. We became part of the solution. We saw the bigger picture. That was decades ago.
   Recycling, reducing, and reusing are lifetime habits. I thought I was involved in doing something that made a difference to our planet. I also used to compost when I had a yard, with grass, and a huge compost heap.
   I now live in a condo. I don’t have a compost bin, even though “non-smelling” containers are available.
   How committed am I?
   Yesterday afternoon, on a walk to stretch my legs, I took my packsack with me. I picked up more than a dozen stray empties (bottle or cans) from the curbside on one side of the street. I was selective, yes, not bothering with the stacks of paper, or trash; I hadn’t the capacity, and I’m fearful of the number of syringes and needles deposited on the street even more carelessly than single-serve beverage bottles.
   But I did stop and pick up some material for the recycling bin.
   I did something I used to do.
   I was inspired, yesterday, by a man who saw waste on the street and disposed of it like it was not an inconvenience.
   He did his part.
   It’s amazing the impact that one person can have. By watching his actions, I was reminded of things I used to do and how much more I could be doing to save this planet.
   I was inspired.
   I can do more. We all can.

 

 

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