Now is a time when the complexity of the problems that we face is so enormous that it can become overwhelming, and we often don't know where to begin. People ask me, "What can I do?" I have hesitated with my response to that question because there is so much that needs to be done and so many ways to do it. I can't and shouldn't be the one to tell you what you should do. I want you to find for yourself what you want to do that lends itself to your life and to who you are, and do that. I really want you to do that. Your unique, individual expression will make a difference - whether you are able to see it or articulate it or know it - as long as you are acting out of a sense of your own purpose and commitment. Acknowledge to yourself that you have taken a stand and that you have made a commitment in your life to a better world.

One very specific way, however, in which you can begin making a real difference in the world is a simple thing that I do and that you can do every day. I am really bothered by litter, and I am constantly working on it. I was on tour last fall. I went out for a run in the northeastern United States - in a beautiful college town with one of the prettiest campuses I have ever seen. It was the height of the New England fall colors on a crisp, glorious Sunday morning. As I ran, though, I came upon more trash and litter than I have ever experienced any place in the United States. It was so depressing that it literally took the wind out of me and I couldn't run any more. I asked some townspeople passing by why there was so much trash everywhere. They stuttered, stammered, and were a little embarrassed, for which I don't blame them. Finally, someone said, "Well, Van Halen did a concert here last night." I don't know what Van Halen does with their music, or what it brings out in people, but I know absolutely that Van Halen was not responsible for the mess that I saw.

I would like to ask each of you to find a piece of litter every day - be it a beer can, a cigarette package, a Styrofoam coffee cup, or a food wrapper - and put it in the trash. Do that for yourself as one expression of your commitment to make a difference in this world. If you look every day for that piece of trash that you can pick up, you will discover new ways to manifest your commitment. People may give you a strange look if you happen to stop your car in the middle of the road to pick up a beer, or if you pick up clutter around the office. You can say that you have taken a stand for a better world, a cleaner world, and this is one of the ways that you are making that happen.

The point is that your commitment is going to have an effect. You can be in a black, cloudy mood one day - really feeling like you are not doing your job, or worrying because you just had a fight with your kids and you don't know what to do - and you can take action, picking up that piece of trash. Not only will it work for you as an expression of you living up to your commitment, but someone will notice it, in some way. It is going to have a positive effect on our planet. Know that, live out of the commitment - and know that people who read the Windstar Journal are going to be doing the same thing, in addition to the several hundred thousand people to whom I have talked in concerts over the last year. There is synergy in that. I don't know exactly how it will show up in the long run - except that we are certainly going to get rid of a lot of litter!