Day 359: The Worth of a Book is to be Measured by What You Can Carry Away From It. ~J. Bryce

A Book is to be Measured by its content and story but I measure my books in a different way. What can I share and what can I give away once I finished the book. Not every give has to be for a not for a not for profit organization, person in need, or animal suffering. Giving can be as simple as passing on an item you no longer need to someone who will truly appreciate it. It becomes the double give – reusing to help the planet and giving to a person that will be in full appreciation of what you are passing along.

Day 357: Give 357 Guest Give by Nicola Inwood

Books can be a great give every single time.

Endless Books

My boyfriend is a publisher. Bless his heart, and I feel blessed for more than the fact that he is a publisher, I have an endless supply of books that are at my finger tips. As an avid reader (thanks Dad) and lover of stories and peoples perspectives, I have to say I feel like I am the luckiest woman in the world having access to so many different titles, authors and interesting topics.

The Eco-Friendly Home

A few years ago I was researching and reading about building a healthy home. I have 4 books in my library about environmental living, tips and tricks for changing how you live in your space to make it healthier, better for the environment and most of all inexpensive ways that you can accomplish this goal. I read through them and implemented many of the suggested strategies and held onto the books in case I needed to refer to the information again.

In my fall clean up, I had put aside a number of books that I was going to donate to the local library, a regular trip that I like to make as the local libraries where I live in Mexico have few English books on their shelves. The books on building a healthy home were added to the pile as I felt that I had benefited as much as I could from them. They were destined for public consumption and was going to be part of my monthly gives.

The Opportunity to Give

But sometimes giving opportunities present themselves and one did this week that made me smile. When you put out the intention of giving, and think that we have the perfect give, a better one comes up and this week, the books went to another home, not the library.

I have a natural health clinic that I use here in Mexico. It is a group of passionate and compassionate doctors and nurses that combine mainstream and alternative medical practices in their treatments. I have been going to the clinic for years as I use acupuncture as a maintenance program for my overall general health. This group of doctors provide great services to the public but are also very active as volunteers to provide services and educate the community on alternative health care options in the 21st century.

One of my doctors at the clinic had mentioned that they had bought a new house and was excited about building their organic garden, seeking out alternative building practices and was wanted to use as many environmental practices in the cleaning and maintenance of the home as she could. As a young doctor it was great to see her enthusiasm.

My give of the day presented itself. The healthy home books had found its new owner/reader!

At my next appt I gave my doctor her new books. Though the books are in English (she speaks about 4 languages) she was so happy to have the new books to help her on her mission. I was thrilled to pass the books forward and put them directly into the hands that could use them the most.

In your fall clean up, put out the intention to donate or give away items that you no longer use and you will be surprised how quickly the gives just…present themselves. The other books did go to the library, but I was thrilled to give this series a new home with a woman who creates health everyday in her community.

Time Commitment: 5 minutes

Cost: 0