Out of the salt-shaker

Too many of us start the year with many resolutions...actually too many of us have too many resolutions. As I drifted in and out of sleep, one of my resolutions came to mind:

It's my heart desire that people are glad wherever I go, not whenever I go

God is so good - Matthew 5: 13-16 gives me (actually, all of us) 2 ways to do/be that:
You are like salt for the whole human race. But if salt loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. It has become worthless, so it is thrown out and people trample on it. You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead it is put on the lampstand, where it gives light for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven. (Good News Translation)

I'll focus on how we can be Salt in this posting...we've talked about being Light* before.

It is interesting that when you think about salt, it is of no use to anyone by itself...I mean until it is used or applied on something. Years ago, I read a nice book - "Out of the Salt-shaker" - it made an impression on me because for as long as we remain in our comfort zone i.e. in a salt-shaker, we are simply make no impact.

Another way to look at it is in answering the question:

"When people tip or trip you what comes out?"

Salt has so many uses - with more being discovered. The Salt Institute (didn't know there was one) says there are 14,000 uses. I will not even attempt to beat that so I'll mention a few:

Seasoning - the most popular and oldest use of salt is as a seasoning; we all know that it brings taste a meal. I just found out that: "Salt brings to food far more than one of the five basic taste sensations (sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami); it enhances other tastes."**

Antibacterial - I also just realized that salt is considered to be an antibacterial. I'd always known that salt is a preservative but didn't know it is an antibacterial - we learn everyday. Let's make that linkage: "anything that is called antibacterial is called so because it inhibits the growth of bacteria. These bacteria feed off your product and cause it to spoil. Bacteria need a wet environment to grow in. Salt prevents the watery environment the bacteria need to thrive. This is because salt is very good at dehydrating and absorbing the water from anything it comes into contact with. Upon contact with a bacterial presence, salt will start to absorb water from through the cell walls and effectively kill the living organism."*** It's only upon contact that the salt makes impact. Did I just hear you say "out of the salt-shaker"? Indeed, I couldn't agree more.

Life-retention: Salt has the ability to retain the "life" or shall I say colour in fruits and fabrics. Colour-retention is a show of life for me. Washing fruits in slightly salty water after peeling them will keep them from discolouring. I also know from experience that "fabric colors hold fast in salty water wash."*** The other one I found out that suprised me is that: milk stays fresher for longer if you add a little salt to it. Even in these examples, contact is required... Yes, the salt has to come out of the salt-shaker.

Take-away: Salt also has the ability to take-away things you don't want. For instance, salt and vinegar/lemon take away stains and mildew respectively. Salt also removes odours from drains and can even prevent grass/weeds from growing in the areas you sprinkle it on.
 
You can easily correlate each of these uses to the way we live each day. Wherever we go/are we can bring flavour to different situations, help the preservation of good relationships, encourage value & virtue retention and support those who need to deal with various vices. You & I carry amazing value with us - we just remember to come out of the salt-shaker...

Sources:
* For some previous postings on "Light" check out:

http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.ca/2011/09/bright-side.html

http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.ca/2011/07/light-vs-heat.html
http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.ca/2011/03/grow-glow.html
http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.ca/2010/08/living-light-giving-light.html
http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.ca/2010/08/think-on-this_22.html
**http://www.saltinstitute.org/Uses-benefits/Salt-in-Food
***http://rachel-tsoumbakos.suite101.com/salt-as-a-natural-preservative-a62846#ixzz1pxc7EEgM

****http://howtuz.tripod.com/salt.html