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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.