What's your elephant, and when are you going to start eating it?

Even though the weather was perfect for a morning walk yesterday morning (no wind AND no snow at the same time? No way!), besides the lack of people waving to me, there was another thing that frustrated me.

All along the side of the road, the grassy area was littered with a variety of trash. Although the vast majority of the discarded items were plastic bottles and aluminum cans (plus a disturbing number of airplane-sized alcohol bottles), we also found shoes, a deflated toy football and even a pair of blue jeans!

I couldn't help but wonder how many people and how much time it would take to clean up the mess along this one-mile stretch of highway. And if that was a big task, how much time and how many plastic trash bags would it take to clean up all of the similar (and worse) messes in the world?

Yet when I drove the speed limit along this same stretch of road this afternoon, all that trash was hardly noticeable. And as the spring turns into summer, the grass will grow tall, covering the garbage and making it even less visible. Problem solved, right?

Of course not. But is it worth the time and effort at this point to clean up this rubbish? Those who seem to take the following passage from Genesis to heart would probably say no:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” -- Genesis 1:28

Well, at least we're following one of God's instructions! We've certainly done well in the "fill the earth and subdue it" category, at least in terms of filling it with garbage.

Yet as we approach Earth Day 2011, there are many of us who wish we could wave a magic wand and make the planet a much cleaner place. But given how monumental the task seems to be, is it worth even trying? I mean, what can I do? And will it really make a difference?

I am reminded of the old question: "How do you eat an elephant?" Answer: "One bite at a time."

I'm not interested in consuming pachyderms, but I am interested in at least cleaning up my corner of the world. So I'll gather some trash bags and some willing (or unwilling) children of mine in the next few weeks and do what we can to clean up along the sides of our road. (Do the Earth a favor and clean up your corner of the world, too. Imagine what a difference we could make together if everyone did their part!)

Of course, this is far from the only overwhelming task facing each of us. We all have things in our lives that we put off because they just seem too big -- quitting smoking, getting more exercise, a big project at work, eating healthier, saving money, etc.

What's your elephant? And isn't it time you took that first bite?