My aunt recently offered me and my family a dining room table that was owned by my maternal great-grandmother. We could have said no we do not have a need. But I love the idea of owning a dining room set from my great-grandmother. When I asked my mother about her, she said she was a petite lady who loved to read and very often burned dinner. Having similar passions, reading and burning meals, I couldn't resist receiving this legacy.

The dining room set we currently own has a beautiful history and delightful story and is very functional, but I've never been totally enraptured by it. It is an oak set with ornate carvings – I am more of a pine or cherry primitive simple taste – and it was purchased by my partner before we were married in anticipation of his proposal and my affirmative answer. When we were together looking at the set, I thought he was buying a dining room table for his place and I did not pay much attention to the outcome. I said sure, it looked fine. Get it. When he shared later on that he bought the set for us, I blurted, "No way, you are kidding? I am not particularly fond of this; I would have gotten the cherry." But really, a dining room set doesn't need to enrapture anybody – which is why we have owned it and enjoyed it for more than twenty years.

With a new dining table coming, we decided to put our treasured table on Craigslist for sale. My intention was to attract a family that would continue to steward these pieces and enjoy precious family experiences around the table, just as we have for the past two decades. Some interest was expressed along with many requests for measurements of the table.

Then, an inquiry came that stood out: a well-written e-mail, complete with punctuation and closure. I already liked this person. We communicated various details, history, and arranged a time for viewing the table. In meeting the interested couple, I felt both ease and joy that family celebrations would be enjoyed around this set. When she notified me of their interest and made an offer, an interesting integral insight came forth. Integral meaning I simultaneously observed both the interior and exterior perspectives; what was happening on the inside and the outside at the same time.

The offer was 50% less than our asking price. The negotiation game ensued with ease and insight. I noticed my view kept expanding as we were going back and forth. There was the price being offered and then a counter-offer. There was the knowledge of furniture in general and what other similar tables in the market would cost. These exterior, tangible and practical aspects of negotiation were balanced by the interior beliefs I held about this couple and their relationship, their values and culture. My intention to attract a family that would continue to steward these pieces was manifesting before me. At some point, the money negotiation game was close and I wrote, "let's split the difference, settle and celebrate."

This exchange and connection is an example of money play, stewardship, values, relationship, and more. What in your life (financial or otherwise) is calling for settling and celebration?