Giving up can be worthwhile

Week 2 of 21.5.800.  419/800 words.

What stuff do you hoard?  What do you cling to, reluctant to let go even the stuff is of little importance in your everyday life?  When is the last time you made use of that stuff?

This morning I put action behind a decision I made a couple of weeks ago.  I had decided to give up some of my infrequent hobbies, reducing the amount of stuff I have to store and manage, reducing the burden of unfinished things that call for my attention now and again.  

I have knitted and crocheted on and off every since I learned as a little girl.  Every time I took up the hobby again, I wanted a fresh start, something new and exciting to justify learning a new technique, buying more equipment, or adding to my stockpile of yarn.  By now I have quite a lot of yarn.  Too much, considering I start a project every other year or so and my interest is never held long enough to complete a project.  

So, I found a local group on Meetup.com that knits soft hats for cancer patients.  They are very active and they have a solid group of dedicated members.  I immediately contacted their organizer and offered her my entire stash of yarn.  Not only did she happily accept, but it turns out my collection is perfect for their work because it is super soft and doesn't cause itching.  Their most prolific knitter makes 50 hats a month. She will knit through my stockpile in no time at all!  And best of all, she will be putting my hoard of yarn to far better use.  Through giving up my neglected stuff, I enabled someone else's compassion.

Bottom Line: We often hold on to stuff that could be put to better and immediate use by another group or person.  These things we collect and then neglect are actually resources.  Giving them up frees us from the energy spent to keep them while they gather dust.  Letting go of them means they can finally be put to use.

It's a lesson that applies not only to the things we collect at home, but also to the way we run our businesses.  What do you have out in your warehouse collecting dust?  What about in those long-forgotten storage closets? Maybe you've outgrown it, maybe it's residual from a business you got out of a long time ago.  Give it up, because letting it sit there unused and unnoticed is just another form of waste.

-Andrea