naked notes

 

I have a dear, very generous friend, Joni, who loves to shop but doesn’t love to wear most of what she buys. I’ve tried to help her with this problem but I think she just likes to give away her clothes as gifts to her friends. My unbelievable luck has it that she and I are the same clothing and shoe size!

I keep a lot of it and honestly haven’t had to buy clothes or shoes in the six years she’s lived in New York. But for the extra items I can do without, I take my cue from her and give them to my other friends.Okay, so perhaps you don’t enjoy this sort of arrangement, but here’s what I used to do before Joni became my benefactor: put the garments you don’t want to sell or give to the Salvation Army (see last post) out in front of your building on a hangar with a “please take” sign on it. They are apt to go much faster if you do that. Please make sure you wash each item before sending it on its way and please don’t give away underwear or socks—you can throw those out.

According to Buddhism and the laws of cause and effect (karma), when you give away your clothing, you are practicing giving and creating the cause of your own beauty in the future. Stated more simply, if you give clothing with a kind intention, you will be beautiful in the future. Now that’s a cool bargain. It doesn’t matter that you no longer wanted the clothing or that they are hand-me-downs. When you give them away or even sell them, think about someone wearing them and enjoying them. See that person happy wearing your clothing. For more information about how to create the causes for other wonderful futures, see Geshe Kelsang Gyato’s chapter on Karma in Joyful Path of Good Fortune (available at http://www.tharpa.com/).

Even though I’m mainly clad in Joni’s castaways, I took things into my own hands this Spring and bought a shirt.  It was the color (rusty brown purple) I just couldn’t resist and I thought the style would be great for my work as a Hypnotherapist.  After I wore it two or three times, however, I realized it was cut strangely; it was either sewn incorrectly or my body was newly misshapen (that was a real possibility). I kept having to twist it to the right to get the buttons to align and I would unfortunately do this on occasion in front of my hypnosis clients—not a good way to look professional. After the fourth or fifth wearing the word ridiculous came starkly to mind and I was suddenly done twisting. Well, perhaps not suddenly as I might have given it one more go just to make sure I hadn’t magically realigned my physique.  But after that last go, it was hanging outside my building and disappeared in about the time it took me to walk back up my three-floor walk up.

So the moral of my fabulous story is that we may not be able to change the big things in our lives right away, relationships, careers, etc., but we certainly can give away a shirt that doesn’t fit us correctly. In that act we are doing so many wonderful things! We are practicing giving, creating the cause for beauty (or handsomeness) in the future, letting go of a NO, opening up space for a new item to come in, and best of all learning about our own mind.

Category: NY Organize

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