Quilter’s Muse Publications is in the “business” of sharing information. That is our “business.” To that end, we post “free” files to read, “free music” to which to listen, and the only selling that we do is patterns, by special request.
Yet, somehow, we are always receiving requests from guilds to give them free gift baskets, or to place expensive ads in their show bulletins. Since this is not a for-profit business, at this point, how is it that people assume that we can hand out money, left and right? Neither of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths. I am glad of it.
Giving is a gift one gives oneself. Do you know why? Giving is empowering because it makes us feel good. So, personally, we give our talents of writing and photography and when we do that, we give away our time, and in so doing, that means that we give a part of our lives. I feel that we are generous, not in providing monetary support, but generous in spirit. We do things that count; and we give things that others perhaps cannot provide, either because they do not have the time, the knowledge, or the ability.
It rankles my feathers, so to speak, to be asked for money or goods. My gifts are cerebral, that is, they are of the mind.
I am happy that there are people who have been blessed with a lot of money. That is not me, and I am absolutely not complaining about that. We have books, fabrics, flowers in the yard … we have love, and laughter. Hard work keeps us on our toes and keeps us centered on what is important … to us. We don’t think of money as an end in itself, but as a useful tool for buying the basic necessities of life.
Yes, Education has always been important to me and I’ve passed those values and high standards on to the next generation. There is nothing better than knowledge. I love books and I could live in a library. In fact, I worked part-time in the Interlibrary Loan department when I was at the University; and full-time one summer.
In this life, one must decide what is important. We can’t have everything. It’s important to like what you do have already. Perhaps we don’t fit the idea of what others expect us to be, and isn’t that the understatement of the year? We are fiercely our own personalities, and few even attempt to understand us (Jim and I, that is). That’s ok. We are lost in our “own little world,” often with our “noses in books,” and furthermore, we are very happy about that!
Patricia Cummings
