Direct Charity

I moved to South Africa in Sep' 10 after marriage and it was an obvious event to empty or reduce my belongings at home in New Delhi, India. Packing, moving and downsizing ones possessions is obviously a painful task to do! It takes enormous amounts of time, and one has to contemplate and re-contemplate on what to keep and what to give away... the re-usability of certain obvious junk ( sometimes old bits of cloth or tools) is to be evaluated.

So i worked myself out in throwing a sizable chunk before getting married and moving out.... and now in my subsequent trip i am throwing out another and significant portion of the 'i am still around' junk.... phewwww!

It makes one wonder the amount of useless things we accumulate without knowing. Just because we have been staring at something for say 5 years ( which obviously looks ugly and old now, and still has no use) we keep it, don't even move it around! Atleast my family doesn't... It all transcends into my now seemingly forever quest to lighten up the house of these things... sigh! 

I know my folks don't have the energy to do the needful, so perhaps its OK! 

Then comes the problem of whom to give the 'to be thrown out' stuff to?!And since we have always had low chances of luck with the obnoxious Delhi house-maids, i resorted to direct charity on the roads! Literally filled my car with all these things piled into packets and gave 'em off to beggars on traffic lights, some i even gave to ladies seen working on the roads ( atleast they are not begging!), to kids forced into child-labor etc. 

Just the simple act of doing that filled me with a sense of charity! 

Let me quote someone who said "Being rich is the ability to give away"... totally forgot whose quote that is 'coz i remember reading it somewhere! Well, if its not really said by anybody lets call it the new quote by yours truly, of the day!!