My Treasures

Webster's defines treasure as 

"wealth (as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or hoarded"

 ~ ~ ~

As a kid I dreamed of pirates and hidden treasure

Kept my eyes open while digging on the beach or in the woods

As a working adult I believed the treasure was hidden in monthly paychecks

And unwillingly shared with the 'fat cats' to add to their hoard

But lately I've been (re)discovering the real treasures

The treasures that lie in Nature's beauty and intoxicate all the senses

And teach respectful awe of transformation  

The treasures hidden within 'true' humanity

as opposed to those that lie with their heads buried within the arms of conformity

I have discovered compassion, love, craziness,true spirituality

I have discovered that 'not fitting in' is a very good thing

 So perhaps my definition of treasure is:

"that which reawakens a sense of wonder and gratitude and meant to be shared with others"

~ ~ ~

Not long ago I helped my Mama with some household chores

After which she jokingly 'paid' me with these treasures

Can you guess what they are?

~

The first is a dried cactus leaf

The second, pennies crushed on the railroad tracks

(the Mama and her sister, in their 80s, were playing on the train tracks)

The third is a Hala (paint) brush

from the dried fruit of the Hauhala tree in Hawaii

Treasures my Mama collected
and gifted to me because she said only I would understand
And the funny thing is 
I do