Many a good run in India gets spoiled a little bit for me by the amount of garbage I see on the roads. I love to look for out-of-the-way places and trails to run on, expecting to experience nature while living and working in the city between buildings. Parks are good and usually kept reasonably clean, but better for me is untouched nature.

So, I run to the edges of town, but it is there where you find scenes like this one that I had to endure this morning.

Streams and rivers are often worse off, and if you add the smell, they are best avoided altogether.

The municipalities are not the only ones to blame. So many times I have witnessed someone rolling down a car window and throwing something out. Fast food boxes, plastic bags, soda cans—anything just gets dumped anywhere.

This makes me sad for many reasons. I feel sad for the cows, stray dogs, and even people who search through this garbage for something to eat. It poisons and spoils water sources. And it is such an eyesore for everyone. Wouldn’t anybody rather live where there is beauty?

And I wonder what God must think of this. He created the earth, and the natural beauty of his creation is a sign of his love, his own creative Spirit, and his love for beauty. If we spoil it, I think it makes him sad too.