At dawn, my daily walk through touristy Sausalito finds much litter on the sidewalk: Lappert\u2019s ice cream cone paper wraps, Starbuck\u2019s napkins, and cigarette butts. Before the shopkeepers open their doors for business, Juan is busy. He\u2019s blowing up leaves, power-washing the ice cream dropped on the sidewalk and meticulously picking up the litter. One time I asked Juan whether he wished that people would not litter as much to make his job easier. To my surprise, he said, \u201cPeople on vacation are having a good time. Besides, I get to have a job.\u201d While I was noticing the bad things, Juan was noticing the good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are planning to replace our 70 year-old single-pane aluminum windows in order to save on energy consumption and being more comfortable. When the Wine Country Fires were raging in October, ash and smoke seeped through the edges of our old windows and doors. To replace windows, our town requires a zoning permit. I had to post a yellow sign visible to our neighbors in order to give them 10 days to register any questions or challenges to our project. While I found this bureaucracy unnecessary, it is being good neighbors. Our town notices the good in ensuring that we don\u2019t live in isolation with our neighbors but rather we need to function as a healthy community. I wonder if my neighbors will like seeing our new white frame windows. Eventually I notice the good in this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the public parks in Sausalito is Yee Tock Chee located in the center of town. The bronze plaque recognizes Yee who owned the Marin Fruit Co. It said that when residents needed assistance, Yee was there to help out. He delivered groceries to people\u2019s homes and made loans to those who needed some help. Remembering Yee reminds us that everyone regardless of station in life can do some good in the world. By noticing Yee Tock Chee doing good, I must do no less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus told the parable about the Good Samaritan who against all cultural expectations did good. Jesus noticed that and wants us to notice the same. Barbara Brown Taylor writes about the practice of paying attention and said, \u201cAll you need is a body on this earth, willing to notice where it is, trusting that even something as small as a hazelnut can become an altar in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our everyday living, in the daily chores and tasks that we perform, in the places of our neighborhoods, we are given the opportunity to notice the good. Wherever we notice the good, we also notice that God is here. For some being among the natural world releases our noticing the good and the Creator. For others like me, my daily walk on the sidewalks of my local town provides me the opportunity to notice good is happening all around me. And when I notice the good, I also notice God is here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
11.13.2017<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At dawn, my daily walk through touristy Sausalito finds much litter on the sidewalk: Lappert\u2019s ice cream cone paper wraps, Starbuck\u2019s napkins, and cigarette butts. Before the shopkeepers open their