the beach cleaner

Whilst sat in the van having breakfast with a view this morning a man walked past following the tide line with a bag in one hand.

I wondered ‘what treasure is he looking for’ as he wandered past peering into the grasses and sticks that make up the tide line.

As he carried on down the beach I watched him stop and pick things up from time to time.

This man doesn’t stop to collect treasure, he collects the small bits of rubbish that are mixed in with natural debris.

It got me thinking, my first assumption was that he was looking for something special. Now I realise he’s found something special and what he’s looking for is the rubbish that doesn’t belong there.

There are thousands of beaches on this small island, and hundreds of thousands more around the world.

Most of us think we can’t make a difference because there’s just too much rubbish out there, but this man makes a difference every morning.

Nature provides the real treasure, we just need to keep it tidy.