Thrifting

I like to shop in thrift stores. The thrill of the hunt is a fun hobby, and it’s one of the reasons I enjoy using mismatched plates and bowls: I always have a reason to look for another pattern which brings me joy! Now I'm happy when I chip a plate or break a bowl, as I have a reason to wander around in my favorite resale shop looking for a replacement. Libraries and secondhand stores hold a fascination I can’t quite describe. Not only is there a certain delight associated with finding treasures, but there’s the energy of all the hands these items have passed through. I imagine who touched the pages before, wondering if he/she was as excited as I to be learning about another way of life. In this throw-away society, there’s a certain happiness I feel in not buying things. Exchanging belongings with friends and neighbors adds to the tapestry of life. It’s the little things, don’t you think?

"All your past except its beauty is gone, and nothing is left but a blessing. I have saved all your kindnesses and every loving thought you ever had. I have purified them of the errors that hid their light, and kept them for you in their own perfect radiance. They are beyond destruction and beyond guilt. They came from the Holy Spirit within you, and we know what God creates is eternal. You can indeed depart in peace because I have loved you as I loved myself. You go with my blessing and for my blessing. Hold it and share it, that it may always be ours. I place the peace of God in your heart and in your hands, to hold and share. The heart is pure to hold it, and the hands are strong to give it. We cannot lose. My judgment is as strong as the wisdom of God, in Whose Heart and Hands we have our being. His quiet children are His blessed Sons. The Thoughts of God are with you.”
A Course in Miracles T-5.IV.8:2-15