I walk often. 5km, 10km or in place of catching a tram that would only be a 10 minute trip. Travel by foot & you get to see things you wouldn't notice if you were speeding past on transport of any kind. Today I walked 10km with friend & we saw many beautiful things. A brushtail curled up with her baby, in a shrub at eye level right next to the path - so close we could've pat them but didn't disturb their midday slumber. There were blue wrens, lizards & colourful beetles & the softest clouds floated above. I came across a feather, with a strip of green & a yellow splotch, resting on the grass. I bought it home . . . a treasured piece of nature too beautiful to leave behind.
Not searching for it, not expecting it, not wanting . . . it just appeared on our path.
An unexpected gift that put a smile on my face.
It now rests in a tiny glass bottle I found in much the same way, 25 years ago. I was in my teens & exploring the back streets of my neighbourhood that was once a bustling suburb filled with merchants & manufacturing in the late 1800s. As I walked past a rubbled car-park behind an old building I noticed the bottle poking out of the dirt, its amber glass glowing in the sunlight. Another treasure found without expectation.
It's these little things, the objects & their moment of discovery, that bring joy.