Dumpster Diving
I’m not sure how widespread the practice of dumpster diving is, but at the university I
went to it was a annual tradition. The residence hall board would demand that students be completely moved out within 24 hours of their last final exam. Families with more money than time would throw away tons of stuff rather than spend the time loading it into their car and moving it. If you had good timing and no scruples you could make off with some really great stuff. One of my friends found an official university sweatshirt with the tags still on it, someone else I know found a fully functional Dell computer. After I got married, and was no longer one of the kids being kicked out of the dorms, I was able to participate in the trash-laden frivolities. We found a whiteboard, a metal shower basket, a textbook on natural disasters, a few crt monitors, a half-used box of garbage bags, a trundle bed and a dollar bill.
The best find for me was the dollar bill. At first I thought it was a piece of paper from a notepad that just looks like money, but upon inspection it was a real dollar bill. I was pleasantly suprised, and decided the whole evening of digging through trash had been a success because of that one dollar bill.
Later, I found myself wondering just how that dollar bill came to be there. It wasn’t in anything where it’s owner may have forgotten it. It wasn’t dirty at all, or ripped, and was rather crisp, though there was the chance that there was something unsavory about it that eluded detection. I considered the chance that it may have been counterfeit, but I had worked at a bank for several years and was able to verify that it had all of the proper security features (That doesn’t mean it wasn’t counterfeit, but if it was it was a really good counterfeit). And if you’re going to counterfeit money, why would you make $1.00 bills?
I’ll be among the first to admit that a dollar isn’t going to get you a whole lot, but why would anyone throw something that has obvious undeniable value away? Finding the dollar in the dumpster reminded me of the parable of the lost coin. The woman swept the house dilligently until she found her coin, and called her neighbors to rejoice with her when she found it. I didn’t know there was a dollar in the trash there, but I was looking for something of value, and I found it. And when I shouted, “Hey! I just found a dollar!” my friends rejoiced with me.
Christ told us that the worth of souls is great, we have value. When we sin, our value in God’s eyes doesn’t go down. He also told us that he won’t give us up for lost, and we shouldn’t give eachother up for lost. He told us to sweep dilligently for the lost coin, or in my case, dive dilligently for the lost dollar. I finally decided that the dollar was put in the dumpster by accident. It stayed in the dumpster because it’s owner didn’t look for it. How many times have we seen a dollar in the dumpster and let it sit there? What, or who have we given up for lost? What are the most effective ways of spiritual dumpster diving?
And now a comic for your enjoyment:
March 27th, 2006 11:22
I enjoyed your story and analogy very much. Thank you for inspiring me to think about this deeply. Ajoy
March 27th, 2006 12:07
I threw myself away one day, and there I let myself lay. Until, at last I remembered that there was life and beauty beyond the walls of the dumpster I had made. I do have value, and I am done wasting it in there. Joy, light, fresh air, and love, each calls me to live higher. I lift my face again to the warmth and comfort of the sun. My days in the dumpster seem now but a strange dream, distant and surreal. I will not forget, though lest I trap myself again.
Thanks.
March 27th, 2006 13:10
Naiah, Did someone go diving to find you. It’s a shame to throw away a perfectly good person.
I heard that if you go dupster diving in parts of Japan, you will end up with some really good electronic equipment. A lot of people there “must” have the latest technology, so they just throw away the old stuff (old like as in a couple of years old).
Very good analogy I might add. We shouldn’t be afraid to get dirty when helping others (or ourselves) out.
March 27th, 2006 14:05
The most effective missionary experiences I have had (after my mission) was when I specifically targeted someone. Not just random hoping for an opportunity.
I thought of the lost coin example you gave. When one gets specific for what they want to accomplish, goals are more likely to be met.
March 27th, 2006 16:12
thanks, good post.
March 27th, 2006 18:14
I have a lost debit card that I’d like to rejoice over right about now…
I was thinking about how many things of obvious worth I’ve let be crowded out in my own life from time to time. Some of those opportunities I’ve passed up blessed others but others that were tailored just for me wouldn’t do much good even when plucked by another from the Dumpster. A check made out in my name, for example, would have value to me but not to someone else (assuming no fraud and forgery take place).
March 27th, 2006 20:44
Ian: I lived in Japan for 9 years and my husband is the gomi collector extraorinaire of all times. We furnished our house and gotten several variations of excellent speakers and stereo equipment. Even several electric guitars and amps. My favorite was an 18K garnet ring that fit perfectly on my ring finger!
Starfoxy: What a great story and analogy you made to the worth of souls. I nveer minded hanging out with “alternative” or weird people ’cause I kind of like looking for the gems that aren’t readily seen from the surface. Like my ring.
Thanks for this.
March 27th, 2006 21:23
Téa, good luck on the credit card. That’s pretty nerve wracking.
Thanks for the comments so far everyone! The story of finding something of value in the dumpster could really go so many ways. I was (and still am) sort of hesitant to say too much about it(but I’m going to anyways!). As Téa mentioned, sometimes it can be good to leave things as they lay because it will bless the lives of others. And, as Téa also mentioned sometimes I just won’t have a use for what someone else threw away, no matter what its is value to them. (Someone’s else’s marriage prospect for example.)
There is also the idea of picking and choosing what is of value carefully, ie, is ruining my good reputation worth digging in the dumpster for a buck? It’s a fine line to draw. Christ hung out with the dregs of society regularly. He wasn’t afraid of being drug down, but we are not the Son of God. As Ian said “We shouldn’t be afraid to get dirty…” but sometimes we don’t just get dirty, we get stuck. One thing I noticed while dumpster diving is that there is a ladder on the outside, but not a ladder on the inside.
Great thoughts everyone, and thanks again for the comments!
P.S. Re: Japanese dumpsters I’ve read about similar things before. It seems the average Japanese consumer cares more about up-to-date technology, while the average American consumer cares more about if the thing still works. Makes for interesting marketing and development patterns.
March 27th, 2006 23:28
I will put this in my “good things to know” file, along with “don’t say crap in South Africa.” “Check out the garbage in Japan.”
March 27th, 2006 23:47
I’ve experienced dumpster-diving in Japan and big-trash days in SLC, but by far the best experiences with tracking down free stuff that I’ve had is through freecycle.org (sort of like craigslist, but you cannot exchange money or anything else). The mountain bike I commute to work on, the worms in Jana’s vermiculture bin, plastic grocery bags for DiY crocheting projects, and the Ethan Allen four-poster bed we sleep in–all free through the local freecycle network. And we’ve given away microwave ovens, computer parts, the kids’ clothes and toys, books, and more. The coolest thing about this is its like dumpster diving but you can look those tossing the stuff out in the eye. The human connections we make are at least as valuable as the stuff we get!
March 27th, 2006 23:51
Sorry, Startfoxy, for the total absence of a spiritual note in that last comment. Maybe freecycling is like if we’re all doing our home- and visiting- teaching all the time? No one really gets lost?
March 29th, 2006 14:25
If I could find a dumpster-diving partner, I’d make this into my new hobby. But as it is I’m too chicken to go out on my own, and my husband (tho supportive of my freecycle habit) is less than enthusiastic abot trash-picking.
But between freecycle and ‘the free food lady’ who lives next to my sister (a neighbor who brings home boxloads of free food from her workplace on a weekly basis), we benefit from a lot of freebies. Someday I hope to not only be a vegan, but also a freegan (living entirely off of free stuff).
IMO, a free lifestyle is not only good for the planet in terms of recycling, but it also cuts down on our having to participate in the rampant capitalism that exploits ppl all over this planet. Not to mention the good karma that it brings my way when I share my freebies with others and when I recycle, reuse or repurpose something.