Pòcaidean làn beairteas (pockets full of wealth)

Emptying small pockets before they went into the washing machine used to throw up lots of small objects.
Some shiny, some rusty. Some plastic, some natural.
All of them treasure to the finder, all with little intrinsic value.
And I kept them. Put them in a glass jar to deal with later. Sometimes the items were claimed by the treasure hunter or a sibling but mostly they stayed in that jar.
And inevitably those small pockets got bigger and I found the treasures less often and still the half filled jar sat on top of the washing machine.
And now when I empty those pockets I find the occasional coin, a crumpled, handwritten note, a school bus pass or a biro pen and I hand them back, and still the half filled jar sits there.
And it’s contents have not increased in monetary worth, but those intervening years have caused a shift in their value to me.
They have become my treasure.
I’m my eyes they have moved from worthless to priceless.
They are a tangible reminder of those small, sticky hands and tired dawdling legs.
They remind me that there is immeasurable wonder and joy to be found in the small, simple, overlooked things in life.
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And this is my ode to those items.
Priceless to the treasure finder all those years ago and priceless to me now.
They are time travelling treasure.

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This piece was exhibited in Ulaidhean / Treasures in Gairloch Museum, 6 July – 28 September 2024. The exhibition was a collaboration between Gairloch Museum and the Society of Scottish Artists.

https://www.s-s-a.org/ulaidhean-treasures-ssa-at-gairloch-museum-2/