Giveaway and The Tuna Fairy

There is a Native tradition that I practice called "give-away." You can call it many things; potlatch, redistributing the wealth, conscious giving, or charitable giving. It's all the same idea. This site and this site explain it a little better.

Every time I hold a party, I always feel like my guests should leave with something. In The United States, we sometimes call it a "party favor." It's a small gift to thank the person for their presence at your event. Usually, I try to make it little things that have something to do with the theme of the event.

For example, at my baby shower, the gift bags included homemade party cake scented bath bombs, buttermints in "It's a Girl" wrappers and a burned CD of songs with the word "baby" in the title.
This concept of gift giving is great. However, I take the concept of give-away once step further. In order to understand why I practice this, you must understand the ideas behind it. First of all, the idea that everything in existence is merely energy. This is a scientific fact. You, me, our possessions and the cosmos are just slowly vibrating energy and energy can do two things. Energy can flow or it can stagnate, like water.

If you have things around you that clutter up your house, are never used and serve no purpose, it can create symbolic energy blocks in your life. Things can stagnate around you. When I need to shake things up or need to get something flowing into my life, I look around me and find the things that I no longer need. This process can be either internal or external.

Internally things that are no longer serving me could be anger, hurt, or sadness . It could be self-destructive behavior (which I am guilty of), bad habits or poor eating patterns. Externally, I comb through my closets. Am I hanging on to shoes that are too small? Is that sweater hanging there worn out or no longer "me"? I take a hard look around and take an inventory of the things around me. Can someone I know use these bottles of perfume that, now, give me a headache? Does someone's baby girl need a wardrobe boost of the clothes that Pookie (my daughter) has grown out of? If so, I make gifts of the no-longer-needed items. If not, I know that someone, somewhere has fallen on harder times than I have, so I donate what I and my family can no longer use.

There was a time while I was pregnant that I was being given food. One of the things that was given to me nearly every two weeks were 6 eight ounce cans of tuna in water. I have taken fish oil supplements every day since 2007, so getting Omega-3s into my system isn't a problem, for me. Still, I had all these cans of tuna. They were taking up space in my cupboard and I didn't want them to go to waste. So, I became "The Tuna Fairy."

Whenever I went to someone's house during this time, I'd steal away from the group and take my purse with me. In my purse, I'd brought a few cans of tuna. I'd go into their kitchen and poke around until I found the cabinet of canned goods. Then, I'd take the cans of tuna out of my purse and deposit them in the cabinet. My parents-in-law and several friends got visits from "The Tuna Fairy," though no one mentioned it to me. Some of my friends are OCD organized, and I can almost hear them now. "Where did these cans of tuna come from? I didn't buy these!" But the cans were always gone when I'd go to put more in on the next visit, so I know they weren't going to waste.

Can you spot the visit from The Tuna Fairy?

So, my being "The Tuna Fairy" is now something that my friends and I joke about. I had to tell them, in the end. The idea was too fun and silly to keep to myself.  After it was all over, I let them in on it and got so many relieved sighs. "I wondered where those came from," they said. "I thought I was going senile."

Bri as "The Tuna Fairy"

As Leonie Dawson says, "Decluttering and space clearing isn't just about throwing stuff out and wafting an incense stick around. Nup - it's powerful. It's like a physical prayer - a magical way to shift your life by changing your home. It's alchemy. It's divine. It's transformation." 

Personally, I use sage and sweet grass for smudging while clearing. But that's just me. 
How can new and beautiful things come into your life while space is still being taken up by old stuff that no longer serves you? Letting go of something old clears room for wonder, magic, coincidence, miracles and Flow to come in. (More on Flow at a later date)

Whenever I need to move to a new town, I go there before even looking for a place and donate something, somewhere. I'm giving energy and help to that locale so that it will welcome me and give me what I need at the time.

Some people use prosperity altars in their home to focus their energy. If that's too "woo-woo" for you, that's okay. Moving the energy around is the point. In fact, when I'm mad or confused about something, I'll go clean. Dishes will get done. Floors will be spotless. And, at the end of it, I feel better and usually have a bit of clarity on my conundrum.  
  
I've also read stories about people who practice "reverse panhandling." Just standing out on a street corner and giving away $5 bills to people passing. You'd be surprised at how many people just will not take the money. It's amazing!

Talk back, lovelies. I'd love to hear from you!

How do you give? How do you clear out? How do you share and how does it enrich your life?

<3 Bri