It's Not Just Saving

"You can have it if you'll use it."

That's a phrase I find myself saying sometimes--probably because it's been said to me several times. It's a phrase that is relevant to my life.

What's the good in having something if you don't use it?

Exactly. It's not much good at all.

When I was a kid in Ecuador, American candy was an extreme treat. Any time I had some, I kept it in a cute tin my older sister gave me (which I still have--does that tell you anything about me?). I loved it when the tin was full. I would open it, poke through the candy then close it and hide it away again. Rarely did I eat any of the yummies.

I didn't just keep the candy, I hoarded it.

After a long time I decided to eat  the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup that was hidden in there, along with a candy cane and several other tasty tidbits.

The peanut butter cup was awful. It was dry and had a funny taste to it. Hoarding it had ruined it. If I had just nibbled away at it--a little bite here and a little bite there, I would've been able to enjoy it, and enjoy it for a long time. But I didn't and it was ruined.

That's a lesson I've had to relearn many times in my life--including just recently.

Over the years I've come to love snapping pictures, and I've taken lots of them. But all too often they sit on my computer or phone, doing nothing but taking up space. In the past couple of months I've gotten involved on Instagram and I have to admit to loving it. It's a place to do something with some of my pictures. A place to share them for no other reason than that they make me smile or I found them interesting.

But Instagram is all about the insta. I still have all the pictures I take with my camera which, in my experience, are not insta. I can't click and post while exploring the creek or standing in line at the grocery store--both of which I tend to do.

So, I've decided to apply what I've learned.

No more hoarding pictures. That means if I have a picture I want to share just because it makes me smile, then I'm gonna post it. Here. On my blog. Even if it's not a real good picture. Even if I have no words to go with it because after all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

So tell me, are you hoarding something in your life?

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