Well, five days off over Christmas after a more-than-usually busy December turned into three weeks of the most enjoyable relaxation I've managed to acheive in years! (And yes, those who know me, I did actually relax... like actually sitting down for longer than a passing thought: on couches, hammocks, beds, sand dunes, rock pools, mountains—not the tippity tops of them, mostly just the lower bits because I was, you know, relaxing!)
On a relaxing walk with some of my extended family in the Cederberg, my sister devised a plan to encourage my nephew to walk back to the car (he was quite happy to play "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" and stay out in the noon day sun during the heatwave!), by suggesting a treasure hunt, thinking she'd need to hide some chocolates along the way. All of us were humbled when Aidan, running in front searching for treasures, stopped in the path, crouched and squealed with glee: "Here's a treasure I can't take home!"
He was looking at a hole in the sand the large fynbos ants had made.
He found many more such treasures: more ant holes, a butterfly that followed him, some pebbles (which he took home for Ouma) and some sticks. What a treasure he gave us too: the reminder of all the treasures that we're constantly surrounded by, that we can't take home save in our hearts and minds! I feel so blessed that we have our "Aidan treasure" that we can take home, along with the insights that he, and all the other little people around us, give us if we just open our eyes, hearts and minds to notice.
My wish for all of you is that the new year brings you an awareness of the abundance of treasures in your lives, regardless of what other things life throws at you.
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