Spirits & Trash

Communities across the country, watch out! Because Pick Up America has commenced their glorious trek across our lands, and there are two things that are bound to be picked up if you just so happen to fall in their path: trash, and your spirits.

This group of brave, inspired people have taken on a journey to travel across the girth of the continental United States, gathering all of the disposable crap that passes through our lives daily and ends up discarded on the side of the road, usually within the confines of some precious ecosystem, or intruding upon some family's backyard. They are exploring and exposing the nature of American consumption, and striving to find the kind of solution that would persist in the mindset of society. Where the Pick Up Artists go, they promote the significance of our shared responsibility to the earth: stewardship of the land, and a necessary reflection on the lifestyles and habits that inflict toxic and unnatural results on our own bodies and lives, as well as on the environment. And where they go, they bring with them their vision, their tenacious commitment, and their unbound and completely enjoyable spirits.

I had the pleasure of walking with them, briefly, as they passed through Annapolis, MD. And hidden within what would seem in passing as a peaceful wooded spot nearby the local police station were layers and layers of caked, smelly, buried trash. It seemed to completely engulf the soil within which it had been implanted, and its general indistinctness from the road made me wonder how much more of my earth is tattered like this... probably more than I could bear to truly realize. Within just two hours of pickup work, we had collected an astounding (and disgusting) 286 pounds of trash, which the Pick Up Artists then left for the Highway Administration to round up.

So far they have traveled from the very Eastern shore of Maryland, across the Chesapeake Bay and into the Capitol of the State, and have collected over 10,000 pounds of trash. Along the way they have won the hearts of local communities, have inspired many folks around them, and have gathered immeasurable support in the form of warm meals and comfortable lodgings by volunteers who are more than willing to be a part of their experience, even briefly. After spending just a day amidst the joy and the tenacity of these amazing Pick Up Artists, I felt totally gratified and inspired. If everyone else they encounter along their journey feels a fraction of what I have, then perhaps this feeling of stewardship will persist beyond the tracks of Pick Up America, and into the mindsets and lifestyles of people all across the country.

To follow their journey, look here: pickupamerica.org