I can't remember the exact phrase....

I think it may have been the "paradox of frugality"--mentioned on one of the Sunday morning "news/talk" shows yesterday--and "This Week with George Stephanopolous" in particular. The "Round Table" was discussing the current economic situation(s) here in the United States, and actually around the world.

One of the commentators mentioned something about people learning and living by the "paradox of frugality"--where the consuming public has actually learned (the hard way) the value of saving, and not buying everything in sight, just because they could afford to do so.

The paradox: When people "save their money" and don't spend willy-nilly, then the "economy" tends to take a downturn. Retailers depend on the "consuming public" to do just that: consume.

Maybe, just maybe we have come to a place in our national life that "greed is no longer good." Maybe we have reached that stage in our existence when we actually don't have to own the "latest and greatest" of all the gadgets and gizmoes that are currently "the trend."

Maybe, just maybe the "latest trend" in our "American way of life" is to enjoy living with what we currently have, and even giving some of it away.

Which reminds me of a song (and MOST things remind me of a song) that Bill and Gloria Gaither birthed a few years ago. Here are some of the poignant lines to "Give It Away":

If you want less lonely and a lot more fun
and deep satisfaction when the day is done,
throw your heart wide open and give it away.
If you want more happy than your heart can hold,
if you want to stand taller, if the truth were told,
take whatever you have and give it away."

I remember an illustration from many, many years ago. When you hold a "tightly-clinched fist", no one can take anything out of that fist...and no one can put anything IN it either...

Living life with an open hand, an open heart, and an open mind really does work.

All the "stuff" we have is just that: stuff. Clutter. One more thing to dust, repair, or replace the batteries in ...

So yes, the "paradox of frugality" really is a blessing, when we stop and think about it. There really are two kinds of people in life: givers and takers. I want to be a giver...

God is a giver...