(re-post)
In this recent adventure of simplifying – and it feels like it is going to be major, whew and wow – I have been going through my books and deciding which ones I really want to keep. This is an enlightening practise at any time and reflects changes in interests or progress.
This time a large number of books are ready for new owners and I realized that a great many of these are reference-type books and the reason I am giving them up is because I now have the Internet at my fingertips. A bit of a Google and much information is available.
The scope of this seems to make one tome a bit insignificant. Hmmmm. Even the cookbooks are getting seriously gleaned. I only use one or two, for goodness sake, and there is a satisfaction, as in all aspects of life, I am discovering, in only 'owning' that which really suits, which serves our needs best.
A pair of shoes that truly 'worked' for me – my foot shape, gait, lifestyle – was one of the first major epiphanies in this regard many years ago and since then I have been assessing needs and wants in that light- to come to the awareness and act on it.
The Knitting books were mostly just lovingly touched and gently riffled through and put back on the shelf but a few have been put in a pile for adoptive consideration.
I sort of doubt I am ever going to want to do extremely complicated patterns – been there, done that – but the thought that someone will find pleasure in such has me motivated to let these books go.
The 'theme' of this simplifying (and I have done three majors, several minors) seems to be to take with me only that which I can pack into my collection of old suitcases: cull the filed items, cull the linens, cull the wool stash, cull the – well, you get the idea. It is really liberating.