A Freckled Leaf

I’m sitting at the table in the camper — and if I look outside, where my boyfriend’s friends’ five-year-old is running around, hands in the air holding a freckled fall leaf, yelling and making sounds for no apparent reason. And I think to myself — what’s the impulse or logic there? When was the last time I did something just because I wanted to?

Then I have a second realization: sometimes doing the weird and outrageous thing is exactly what brings joy into our lives.

I start thinking of all the illogical things I’ve done in my life — and how each of them brought a lesson, a gift, or a story.

Before I stepped into the trailer, Elliot had come up to me with a box. He told me it used to hold his glow sticks (very relevant) but now it was filled with fall-colored leaves. He lifted the box up to me and asked, “Would you like one?”

I was ecstatic. Genuinely. The fact that this little boy wanted to share a kindness with me — yes, a leaf — but more importantly, the gesture of it moved me. I said, “Wow! Thank you!” and I was genuinely grateful — maybe even over the top. Seeing my gratitude, he smiled with a full grin… and then offered me the entire box.

I said, “Oh wow, that’s so thoughtful and generous!” We looked through the leaves he filled this cardboard box with. I explained to him that I didn’t want to take his whole box, but he insisted — I could have it and I have learnt that in our acceptance of other’s gifts we give them the value of being seen and appreciated. I accepted full heartedly.

His generosity inspired me though — and I left that interaction minutes later — to ponder what I could give a 5 year old and so naturally I decided to draw him a freckled leaf — one of the many he had gifted me — and passed it to him. As I passed him the leaf again his face lit up, happy to have been thought of, and ran off to tell his dad.

This is the magic: value is generated by appreciation. There is more abundance and more wealth in the world than we often realize. Our gratitude has the power to grow joy and contentment.

This moment reminded me of a lesson I’ve learned before — that when we receive something freely offered, we have an opportunity to create value. It’s not just about the object; it’s about the gesture, the connection, the thoughtfulness. That’s what makes it valuable. And when we respond with genuine gratitude, we also give something back — the gift of making someone feel special for giving.

It also reminded me that we already have so much more than we think. A box of leaves and a moment of kindness can spark joy, creativity, and connection. Abundance can come from the simplest things, if we’re willing to appreciate and share them.

And herein lies the beauty of a reciprocal relationship — when someone brings something of value into our lives, we naturally want to give something back. Not out of obligation, but from the heart.