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Last spring, I had an interaction with a man that changed everything. He was one of the blue-shirt workers in Hudson River Park in New York City. He was doing his job of picking up garbage. I was sitting on a bench nearby enjoying my breakfast. Here’s how our conversation went:

Blue-Shirt Man: “Any of that trash?” (pointing at my coffee & breakfast)

Trent: “Not yet. I’m gonna hang on to them. Thank you, sir, for keeping the park clean.”

“Hey man, I use the park too.”

“Well, nonetheless, thank you for the effort.”

“Yeah it takes effort but I also get to enjoy it.”

“Absolutely, lots of people are out here enjoying the park too.”

“It didn’t used to be clean, you know. Lots of garbage everywhere. But now it is. Now everyone is out here. Gravitating towards the water.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Tranquility… Watching the current. It’s relaxing.”

“I’m the same way. I love being by the water. That’s why I’m out here right now.”

“Yeah man, I toss my radio on and ride my bike along the water. It relaxes me. That’s the thing about New York man. It’s so fast. You’ve got to find ways to relax. You gotta find that peace.”

“That’s so true. That’s part of the reason why I’m here right now. I was debating going into the office today. And instead I chose to just go for a walk to quiet my mind a bit.”

“Ahhh you’re one of those. Well just remember to slow down sometimes too. Gotta find that peace. Otherwise you’ll crash and burn.”

(Disclaimer: it was a Friday. So, I wasn’t ditching work. I'd just opted to make it a work-from-home day.)

This man was playing his role in keeping the park clean.

I thanked him, thinking it was purely a selfless act or, at the very least, a thorough execution of “doing his duty.”

And yet, he was right in correcting me. Yes, he was playing his role, but it was also a selfish act: “I use the park too.”

He admitted that it was also in his best interest to keep it clean.

It made me think…

I live in this world too

So, I’m a benefactor of my giving also

To give to another is a gift to myself

We share this world

We share this experience... together

An act of giving, however small, reverberates throughout the Whole

It creates a boundless ripple

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That’s what I’m solving for

Playing my part by giving to the Whole

My inclination is to gift my attention

To gift my sight

To see the thing that everyone else misses

To see the person who everyone else passes

To break down the perceived barriers between Self & others

To observe it all

To bear witness to the Collective

My contribution is generous acts to the Collective

This includes generous acts to myself too

That’s where the “crash & burn” wisdom comes in…

I am a part of the Collective

To see my True Self

To listen to my True Self

To give to my True Self

Is a gift to the Collective too

To neglect my True Self, even if it’s in service of others, is to take from the Collective

I’m robbing the Collective

By taking from one of its members

This is not a justification to hoard

This is not a call to action to protect myself

I aspire to have no attachments

I aspire to have no needs

I have nothing to protect in the end

But I mustn’t neglect my responsibility to genuinely see me

This is simply a reminder to listen

To observe when I’m feeling misaligned myself

To ensure I see my True Self in the way that I’m seeing others

To realign when necessary

To “find that peace” when I find myself moving too fast

To see my True Self is a selfish, yet selfless act

To see my True Self is also a contribution to the Collective

It’s funny, the night before this interaction, I read a passage in Bird by Bird that said something to the effect of:

This man gave me a gift, as I just sat there eating breakfast on a park bench.

“Hey man, I use the park too.”

That line changed my character.

It informed his new directive.

Put simply:

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