How do I love thee?

A wonderful poem -- vintage if you will; written in the late 1800's by Elizabeth Barrett Browning -- keeps popping into my mind. I've never been able to recite every verse because I don't believe, until today, that I had ever read the whole poem. Curiosity is a wonderful thing, because it's a great poem! Read on...

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being, and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the levels of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise;

I love thee with a passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath

Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and if God choose

I shall but love thee better after death. 

Whether the attraction towards this poem is due to my new found love of thrifting, or to my ever growing love for the wonderful man in my life, I'm not sure. Well, okay, I'm sure .... But given the subject matter of this blog -- let's go with the thrifting theme. :)

Reading each verse, I realize it has this elegant sense of wisdom and innocence. Although the pure joy of thrifting, the thrill of the treasure hunt, the fulfillment of a new hobby, and the lure of collection is what got me hooked ... there is so much more depth to this subculture that I have yet to even realize. The history and the story behind these pieces, the people and animals that benefit from the charitable donations, and the landfills that grow even a bit slower because we're reusing goods that already exist vs. constantly buying new are just a few of the ways I love thee.

I'm also drawn to the verse, "I love thee with a passion put to use". So true. SO TRUE. Life is lived so much more completely when we draw upon our passions. It's what lights the flicker in our eyes, what causes a heart to race, and what gets us out of bed in the morning. It is where innovation and creativity comes from. Passion makes food taste better, experiences richer, life sweeter.

Now, tell me who wouldn't want to feel this big, this deep, this wide, this high? Find a passion, enjoy it to the fullest, and put it to use. 

See you at the thrift store.

XOXO

ThriftKitty