Last night, I cleaned parking lots. Miles and miles of walking alongside industrial buildings, blowing the trash into the open parking lot, so the sweeper truck could vacuum it up. My job is to remove the trash and debris, but part of my job is to differentiate what material is supposed to be removed and what might be supplies left outside. As an over-thinker, this can be more tricky than one might imagine. Sure, I realize that cigarette butts and candy wrappers can probably safely discarded as trash, but other items, I can’t be one hundred percent certain.

My friend, Sean, is an Eagle Scout. He and I have different ways of classifying matter. If I see a piece of paper in a parking lot, I see trash. Sean, on the other hand, sees a potential fire-starter if left stranded, a place to leave a note in a hostage situation, a wick for a Molotov cocktail, a piece of toilet paper, or a small piece of stuffing to be used to make a pillow if stranded. The fact that Sean and I see the paper different does not change the essence of the paper.

A weed is any unwanted plant. Trash is discarded matter. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have value. One person might see a bed of roses as a bunch of weeds, and another might see an old Jeep as destined for a junkyard. Neither classification is wrong, it’s a matter of personal preference.

I have a problem with allowing any one person to apply labels to things in my life. I am too quick to succumb to an individual’s suggestion that an idea, a product, or a theory is trash. I am not always aware that each individual has his or her own idea of what products, supplies, ideas, or ingredients they need in order to build a happy and secure future. We are all unique, and with that comes a shopping list that is identical to no one’s. My co-dependence allows the opinions of others to place value on the inventory of the things in my life, when only I am responsible for deciphering what is trash and what is treasure.

I will keep my area clean. If it has value, I will keep it and make use of it. If it is trash, I will discard it.

Enjoy your day.

Peace, Love, and all things Beef related,

Beefcake