Recycling pleasures…Four days and counting…

On either side of the face are two hanging red-tipped pieces of skin. When the Helmeted Guinea-fowl moves about, these swing around as would a pair of dangling earrings. Ah, the beauty of the wild! A photo from six years ago today at this link.

When none of Tom’s sisters required a used computer, when they each had well-working devices of their own, their friend Jodi (and now ours) volunteered to take it off my hands rather than dropping it off at a recycling facility.

Subsequently, I reformatted the drive, and it’s now running like a brand new laptop. This may be more of a thrill for me than for Jodi! At noon, I’m heading over to Jodi’s park model to set it up for her.

Recycling any personal possessions provides a great sense of satisfaction for the donor and the recipient, not only for environmental reasons but also for the joy of transferring your treasured items to someone who will enjoy the use of the thing. 

Perhaps for sentimental reasons, it’s gratifying to know the recipient will carry on the legacy of a particular item that may have been a big part of the donor’s history. 

Whoa! My old laptop has been around the world! I’ve pounded out millions of words on that keyboard after using it since January 2015, when I purchased it while in Big Island, Hawaii, at a Costco store.

And I’ve uploaded 2725 posts (as of today), done so with our passion for the world, our ability to continue to travel, and the fantastic people and wildlife we’ve been blessed to meet along the way.

Of course, all remnants of the past have been deleted, and only a fresh palate remains. It’s not so much that I’ve been emotionally attached to it. More so, it symbolizes all the experiences we’ve gleaned along the way since we purchased it five years ago.

As we donate clothing to Goodwill, mainly when it was a favorite item, it makes us wonder who may one day own that item and hoping they will enjoy it as much as we did.

We live in a “throw-away society” described as follows: “The throwaway society” is a human society strongly influenced by consumerism. The term describes a critical view of overconsumption and excessive production of short-lived or disposable items over durable goods that can be repaired.”

We observe this throughout the world. It’s not exclusive only to the USA. Even in some of the most remote areas of the world, we’ve witnessed rampant disregard for our planet and its future.

Each of us has the opportunity to play a small role in passing on our used items that we’ve since replaced, especially when we take a little time to bring them up to a usable condition for the recipient. 

No, we aren’t perfect in this area, nor will we ever be. But we began to appreciate it more when in 2012, we sold or gave away everything we owned to travel the world. 

At this crucial time in our lives, we began to understand this concept of letting go of “stuff” we didn’t need and, hopefully, putting it into the hands of those who may.

Soon, we’ll begin packing. We’ve discovered we need further to lighten our load for the constant traveling in India. We’ll donate some items, and those we’ll need down the road, we’ll send to our mailing service to be held until we can use them again. 

Trying to figure out how to handle “stuff” is a fact of our peculiar lives. We do our best to do so in a manner that befits our appreciation of our world and the many gifts it has to offer…those we cannot hold in our hands but only in our hearts and minds.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 25, 2019:

We spotted a giraffe with two male impalas in Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here.

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