In our little Town there is a curious item called the Free Box. Some would call it an institution, others call it an eyesore (more on that later...). It has been around since the 80's and has greatly enhanced our lives here.
The Free Box:
Put simply, it is a place where you can get rid of old unwanted things, or pick up old wanted things. Over the years Kathleen, Rowan & I have put it to great use. Our dining table, Rowan's crib when he was wee, various many items of wonderful clothing (including such gems as practically new Patagonia fleece pullovers),
an old Specialized Rockhopper bicycle
and just today, that nice queen size mattress we've been waiting for. Yes, waiting for.
This leads us to the metaphysical levels of "The Box". There is a common belief that the Free Box exists within other dimensional realms. For instance, if you interact with the Free Box while taking Karma into consideration you will get what you want, in and around when you want it. Hence the phrase, "The Free Box provides".
One of the main necessities here is that one must not only
take, but also
give, or you might find yourself shite out of luck when you're looking for that can opener you need. It is important, also, to do this on a somewhat equitable basis too. If you've been taking too much from The Box, you better clean out your closet and throw some of those old polyester shirts in there (polyester shirts are quite popular around here).
This idea of equitable give and take seems to make the Free Box a strange and insentient teacher of how to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
The Golden rule of the Free Box if you will...
Well, of course, there are also the begrudgers. The Free Box has suffered some abuse over the years. The people who don't take their Karmic responsibilities seriously and leave broken things or things that are just plain useless there have made it a bit unhappy to go there from time to time, but there is also a particular breed of person who has a most unfortunate habit of deciding that the dump, or the tip, or the landfill is too difficult to get his or her items to, and drops a large pile of flotsam (or jetsam as the case may be) on the sidewalk by the venerable Box. Of course, other people will use different words to describe the leavings of the ignorant, I will not repeat them here.
Alas, folks, it is my feeling that the tradition of the Free Box will not last in Telluride. But for now, it still lives and that is all we can hope for. Tomorrow is a myth.
