Who gets to decide when a person (pet, article of clothing, relationship, etc....) is no longer of any value? I think that we can all agree that relationships that have become dangerous/unsafe would have questionable value right????? But what about those (of us) that refuse to give up hope and might choose to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve the health of a beloved pet? What dollar amount puts that situation into the "no longer of value" catagory? Who gets to decide that. At what age/ability do we (humans) loose value to others? When we no longer bring in a pay check? When we need to rely on others to dress, feed, care for us? When we stop breathing? Again, who should be "in charge" of making that decision?

I have made the comment more than once that I want to live until I am no longer able to make a difference in this world, then preface that with the prayer "please let me notice all the little differences I make each and every day."

I work with senior citizens, and often encounter people that have forgot that a smile and a kind word can have far greater value than being employed or able to walk, if those things are missing from someone's life. I joke to my seniors that if nothing else, their very existance is "job security" for those of us in that field, thus they are valuable. We have so much more to gain from our Seniors, that we will not have forever. People that lived through the great depression and WWII are passing without their stories being recorded for history, and this makes me so sad. Maybe this is because I was orphaned as a child, and crave to know more about my family.

If you are fortunate enough to have a grandparent or aunt or uncle, pick their brain for information on life, and take what works for you. Look for value in things that others have discarded. I L-O-V-E to poke around Goodwill and find things that I can lovingly "bring back to life", or get more use from. In this day of disposable everything, it can be fun and invigorating to try and see value in what others have dismissed as worthless.

There is a saying that goes "One person's trash is another one's treasure." I challenge you to find three items (and/or people) over the next week that someone has trashed, and help the rest of the world to see the hidden treasure in them. If you take my challenge, I am positive that you will be the one receiving something of great value.

I value the time you gave me to read my blog! Thank you.

Patty