It Starts with Us - 7DayPositivityChallenge Day 7

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There is a saying, "Change Starts with You" and so many eloquent speakers have expounded on the wisdom of this phrase to great effect. Michael Jackson even wrote the hit song "Man in the Mirror" based on this.

As a volunteer of Love Joy Association of Malaysia, one of our abiding principle is that it all begins with Us. All our activities to uplift and motivate starts with us taking charge of our own thoughts, words, and deeds. Our Beach Clean Up activity posted a few days ago, is very much in line with this guideline. For us to create change in the world, it starts with us, making that change, taking the effort and getting the ball rolling.

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Through our loving actions, the hope is that we inspire those around us to join in. We do not dictate, we do not advocate, we are simply a catalyst for love. The truth is, all of us have a deep propensity for goodness. It is not always brought to light for a million reasons, but it only takes one small opportunity or spark, to pave the way for our hidden passion to come to light.

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We did create curiosity and kick up some waves in the process. Many were curious and asked us why we were doing this. Some thought we were after the plastics to be sold for recycling (wait, it gets better), some shoo-ed us away saying we shouldn't be taking away from those who really want to collect and recycle plastic (not even sure what to say to this), some noticed that we missed one or two small pieces and pointed where the trash was. No one ever lost their life from swallowing their pride, and so we calmly picked these up, but we did at one point offer one or two beach goer a trash bag of their own to clean around their own picnic area!

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Yes, change takes time. But one thing was evident, how absolutely beautiful the beach was after!! Perhaps they weren't inclined to join in this time around, but it was a curious sight that will surely get a few minds thinking, or a few conversations going. In a continent that has somehow lost sight of one of the most important cultural virtue - cleanliness, this might take a little time to cotton-on, but it surely will.

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Since we were not there to preach, we spent our efforts and energy towards enjoying the day and the final effect of a clean beach. The thing that brought me the greatest joy however, was our team of volunteers, and friends who came out for the day despite it being Fathers Day. We gathered, we ate, we laughed, then we started walking the beach, and without a single pre-arranged guidelines, just fell into line with a few covering the waterline, a few just a few feet above, and another group further up, and another that weaved in and out of the picnic and hawker/business owner area! It was quite a sight every time I took a break to check on the rest of the gang.

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The best part of the day was the weather. We woke up that morning to an overcast day. It wasn't raining, neither was the sun out. We were concerned it might rain, but as it turned out, that's how it remained. I realised what a blessing it was to have such weather as it made our time picking up trash so much nicer with a cool day. The icing on the cake was when we sat down after the clean-up. We decided to chant Om, and do some Pranayama (yogic breathing techniques). Soon as we sat down, the clouds parted to reveal the most spectacular sunset, turning the sky and water into various shades of amber and gold, with hints of blue, yellow, orange, pink, green and violet in there. We had the best 30-45 min show mother nature had to offer.

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The younger volunteers took this opportunity to jump in the water of course. And some wanted to stay in there till Tuesday! Alas, such sweet demands could not be met.

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Before heading home, we gathered the fathers of the biped and four-legged kind for some father's day cake (baked by one of our volunteers) with our own made up song while they cut the cake and enjoyed more delicious food brought by the volunteers.

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I can't think of a better way to end this positivity challenge, than to get involved in a physical act of positive change in the world. Which is why today I am simply tagging everyone and anyone who reads this. The choice is always yours to participate of course. And be it on Steemit, or on Facebook, honestly, it's about us starting with the Man in the Mirror

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The Rules:

The 'rules' are fairly simple, for this Steemit challenge, which I do hope transcends into our everyday life - in finding more positivity in the world.

1. Write a post about something you have to be positive about today - this could be anything from being thankful for your current situation, someone being nice to you, being thankful for your friends and family, or even being thankful for the opportunity you have been given here on Steemit - just keep it positive :)
2. Do this for 7 days in a row if you get nominated.
   From @kchitrah: Or do your best with 7 such posts spaced close together - I know that's what I'll be doing
3. Mention three people who should do this on each day.
4. Tag it with #7daypositivitychallenge and include these rules at the bottom of your post
   (Tip: You need to put the # in front of 7daypositivitychallenge or it will not let you use the tag.)
5. Include a picture of something positive (related to your story if possible).

Today, I'm tagging humanity!

Though the choice always remains in the hands of those nominated to take this up, I hope that this might be an inspiration to find more beauty, love and opportunity to express gratitude everyday. As it is a nice way to move through a week, or more (should we take a couple days in between the posts).

Check out this challenge by @conradt here