Finding Things and Leaving Things

A few days ago I had a wonderful afternoon. There was nothing strikingly special about it. I met up with a friend, we walked, talked, ate, went for a coffee and then to my place for some tea, buns and TV. And yet, it was superb. Perhaps this was because:

There was no definite plan nor fixed schedule. The weather was terrible but being outside was refreshing and made our meal seem all the more fulfilling. The cafe we went to was cozy and we did something I only remember doing in high school: we flipped through magazines together commenting passionately on everything we loved or loathed. I was almost surprised to realize how long it had been since I last indulged in this simple treat. After the coffee we decided we needed some more relaxing decadence and headed to a small shop to pick up some pastry. On our way to my house we found a small bookshelf with a note on it saying ”please take”. For no good reason what so ever we decided to take it. While carrying it over our heads we noticed every single person on the street smiling at us. A few even made good-hearted funny comments – an insane rarity in Finland. At my place we enjoyed spreading out on the couch and watching TV for way too long. Together. By the time my friend had to leave we’d decided neither of us had any use for the shelf so we took it back where we found it.

That evening I realized how lovely small things can be and how very easy it is to forget that. To forget that watching TV can be so much more fun with a friend, to forget to do simple things that make you just a little bit happier, to do silly things for no good reason when you feel like doing them, to enjoy the happiness of the people around you and to let that make you happy in return and finally to forget that even on a dreary day in the middle of the week you can make spontaneous choices even if all your deciding is to have some extra dessert or take something you found on the street only to bring it back two hours later.