SLOPS: Confronting Silent Selfishness

After 3 days of heavy downpours I noticed a putrid smell lingering; the stench of decay eventually traced to a neighbour's rain filled garbage, fluttering with mosquito larvae.

I distinctly remember the moment I saw a dengue fever mosquito land on my leg as I sat on our porchway. A slow stop-motion memory of instantly identifying the colour and peculiar warning markings on the legs and wondering in that millisecond if I was too late as I swatted my skin.

One little micro-puncture had me laid out with high fever, rashes and indescribable wrecking body pains; even my eyelashes hurt to blink.

Back beside the neighbour's infested trash swamp I pondered again briefly; whether to tip it out or if doing so might offend the oblivious owners?

The high risk of dengue striking our kids outweighed and I swiftly pushed over the algae covered bucket of slops and hosed down the street. The stench was nauseating and so unbearable our kids ran inside wretching.

The adjacent next house neighbours have vacated while the city remains in high-level Covid-19 quarantine lockdowns. Two more garbage cans filled with monsoon overflow; disgarded disposable masks and fastfood delivery packages floating in the insect breeding waste fiesta!

Another push over, pour out and washdown. The residual smell later rinsed by more rain. All garbage cans now turned upside down!

Nobody noticed!

THE SLOPS LESSON;

How many people walked by? Perhaps their attention was elsewhere?

Face masks, eyes down. Avoiding contact with everyone distances us from engaging beyond ourselves.

Who wants to clean someone else's throwouts? I have enough of our own home slops to respond to and manage; more mentally and emotionally demanding than decaying fishbone carcasses across the street!

BUT the slops confront my selfishness; a right to comfort, to just mind my own business, to focus on my own pile up.

Someone elses's mess; their problem!

Stinky slop filled self preservation exposed!

Seems like I am the container that needs flipping over and washing out!

Lord, teach me to be generous.

Teach me to serve you as you deserve;

to give and not to count the cost,

to fight and not to heed the wounds,

to toil and not to seek for rest,

to labor and not to ask for reward,

save that of knowing that I do your will.

St. Ignatius of Loyola