Excellent. Freecycling is good for the soul.

Thank you so much for the resources Simran. I was able to find a local Freecycle in my own community. What a cool idea....Joanie

O.A., you are right. Freecycling is good for the soul. And a source of sociological entertainment/ analysis:
What do people want?
What are they willing to give up?
What are they willing to give away for free, asking nothing in return?

Joanie, I am so glad you were able to find freecycle in your community.

If others are interested and can't find a group, swaps can be started within or outside of the Freecycle context. It's really more about the intention, keeping in mind that people find value in different things. Trash or treasure, value lives in many places.

Christopher Shores, a New York artist and beloved friend, took objects that he found on the streets of NYC -- what some would call trash -- and turned them into an installation of soaps. The contrast of the found objects encased in clear glycerine soaps is quite interesting: http://www.vergewerks.com/art/

S.

Freecycling is awesome. I have passed on many, many books - several water fountains - gently worn clothing - furniture and other things that I can't recall.

I also passed on a computer that was given to me to the local homeless shelter. They have made good use of it.

At freecycle the first 'transaction' is to be a give and they have chapters worldwide. It's a wonderful service.

Hi Simran: It is good to see your new post. I kept thinking that your particular skills require that you do "hang on to pieces and tidbits," particular the vast array of information and facts that you have to gather.

I was noticing the many interesting facts that Milind brings into his first post about the municipal government he has suddenly had to come to know so quickly by spotting where the "weak spots" in the bureaucracy are most in need of correction.

I can't help but see his "mind" reflected in yours. If you didn't keep 1,000 e-mails on record--with all those records and information you process, any one of those juicy facts is then lost to your composite profile.

My big project is to do the same though--and clear out just the excess paperwork and junk I have been toting around for years--almost exclusively due to emotional attachments.

Soooo....those emotional attachments actually cause us to literally carry excess weight on our bodies too. We are so much more sluggish until we get rid of it.

The rule I've heard is that if you haven't used it in six months--recycle it or throw it away. Of course, our legal and finacial systems make it so one sometimes has to keep stuff long beyond the 3-7-year period for records. Hopefully, scanners and digital files will soon make that habit obsolete.

I think you "should" become an "Ask Jeeves" or Google-type of information source!!! Your skills are definitely part of the "soul-ution," not the problem in this fast-paced information age!

When you feel overloaded with all that data--I have a friend from my recent schooling whose father is an executive for the company "Transfers," who handle many facets of inter-banking connections, and he has about 400 employees who are under him that have to answer to him almost daily....well, I understand his network went down for two days and when it came back up he had over 1,000 e-mails to answer to! And that is relatively close to his regular flow of just work-related e-mails.

To me--that is beyond comprehension to deal with on a daily basis. Thinking of you and glad to see you posting! --Dave

Dave,

Your post makes me think and smile -- Ask Simi, indeed! Anything I've got, I am more than excited to share. Collaboration makes efforts better and stronger.

Systems-thinking is one of the lenses through which I view the world -- a belief that many people on this blog resonate with--that everything one studies/ engages with actually connects to a bigger system. Or, to put it another way, everything exists in relation to something else (not a new approach).

I love the way Satish Kumar once summed it up: "You are, therefore I am." It's all about relationships.

The Global Ideas Bank (http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/home/) is a fun place to collaborate.

Thank you for reminding me of all the kinds of weight the extra stuff brings!

Lightly,
S.

Simran: Thank you for reminding me of "why" I am carrying so much extra weight! You truly are a veritable resevoir of informational resource banks.

If Einstein hadn't further developed the "theory of relativity," I know you would've--in spite of my relatives disapproving of me gaining a "relatively" stron perspective of my own--about the truth of (the) matter! Love you posts! Dave

I think you have to move things around sometimes. It helps to feel relieve.